->''I'm livin' in the 21st century, doin' something mean to it\\Doin' better than anybody you ever seen do it\\Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it\\I guess every superhero need his theme music''-->-- '''Music/KanyeWest''', [[Music/MyBeautifulDarkTwistedFantasy "Power"]]

''VideoGame/SaintsRow: The Third'' is a WideOpenSandbox video game released in late 2011.

It has been a few years since ''Saints Row 2'', and the Third Street Saints street gang have ridden their success to become mainstream celebrities who pose for photos during their crimes and flog their own brand-name merchandise.

Everything is looking pretty sweet until a bank heist goes wrong and the Saints find themselves in the sights of the Syndicate, a legendary criminal fraternity who control the seedy metropolis of Steelport with an iron grip. Dumped into Steelport with no money, no respect and a heavy loss on their shoulders, the Saints vow to take revenge by seizing the city for themselves from the three Syndicate gangs that control it:

* '''Morning Star''' (red): A WickedCultured organisation with a penchant for expensive suits and fast cars. They're the oldest gang in Steelport and the heart of the Syndicate, led by arms smuggler Phillipe Loren.* '''The Deckers''' (cyan): A group of [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Neo-Cyber-Gothic-Punk-Lolita]] computer hackers who love their TronLines. Their leader is Matt Miller, a British hacker with more confidence at the keyboard than at real life.* '''The Luchadores''' (green): A bunch of {{Masked Luchador}}es who use big vehicles and even bigger guns. They are led by Eddie "Killbane" Pryor, a former professional wrestler who acts as TheHeavy of the Syndicate.

The game differs from its predecessors in a number of areas, primarily through respect unlocking upgrades rather than missions, as well as activities also unlocking portions of gang territories similarly to stores. Character customization has also received a make-over, which now favors quality over quantity[[note]]so much so ''[[http://gematsu.com/2011/05/saints-row-the-third-initiation-station-character-creator-to-be-released-ahead-of-game the demo was a character creator.]]''[[/note]] through options (ranging from realistic to absurd, such as scars or making your character blue) and appearance (such as loose clothing and hair [[NoFlowInCGI actually bouncing and moving now]]) like they were in the previous game.

The [[Characters/SaintsRow character sheet]] is found under the series' name for continuity reasons.

The game received positive reviews from critics, while gamers were more mixed. Some noted that the game either became too easy after a certain point or that the second game is better for various reasons. It also received multiple DownloadableContent packs on and after its release. In late 2012, a year after the game came out, all of this content was bundled together in ''[[GameOfTheYearEdition The Full Package]]'' version of the game, minus two unpopular DiscOneNuke DLC items. The base game (no DLC included) was given away for free to [=PlayStation=] Plus subscribers during July 3 - September 25 2013, and to Xbox Live Gold members during May 16 - 31, 2014.

Oh yeah and Creator/AdultSwim were one of the sponsors of the game and have a station within it (hosted by Jon of ''Series/{{Delocated}}'') where you can listen to a few songs from the networks lineup.

----!!''Saint Row: The Third'' provides examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Tropes A to F]]* AbnormalAmmo: Saints Row: Money Shot features a hit-woman who uses homing bullets to kill her targets. The Boss also uses such toys as exploding bullets with enough force to juggle a man fifty feet into the air, and massaging octopus bombs that mind control targets... and then explode into pink sparkles.** The cannon on the Genki Manapault, that sucks up pedestrians and uses them as ammo.** There's a DLC shotgun that fires chum. Not so dangerous on its own, but it summons the fabled Steelport Sewer Shark, which bursts through the floor, devouring the target whole. Ironically, it doesn't work against targets in water.* AbortedArc: The end of ''The Trouble With Clones'' is not followed up on in ''IV'' or ''Gat Out Of Hell''. It might be CanonDiscontinuity as well, considering there is no mention made of the DLC, and the possible narrative awkwardness [[spoiler:in dealing with the real Johnny Gat and Tag, his clone]].* AbsoluteCleavage: [[FemmeFatale The Bloody]] [[NaughtyNun Canoness]] in the ShowWithinAShow Nyte Blayde, and, by extension, Viola when she's forced to dress as the Canoness during the main storyline. She isn't amused.** A Female Boss can also have this as well, particularly with the "sex appeal" (a.k.a. breast size) slider set to maximum, and when wearing certain outfits such as the "Elegant Couture" dress.* AbsurdlyLowLevelCap: The level cap is 50. ''Not'' reaching it well before the end of the main questline requires to rush through the campaign, to skip most minigames and challenges, to not play any of the three [=DLCs=] if you own them, and to never go on random acts of destruction.* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: If you choose the [[spoiler:Kill Killbane ending. The Boss, sitting amongst the wreckage of Killbane's helicopter, will receive a call from Pierce asking him/her WasItReallyWorthIt, then the Boss can't give an answer.]]* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: Not a level, ''per se'', but the transfer limit on your bank account is this. Once you've acquired and fully upgraded all of Steelport's strongholds, the transfer limit will be $725,000 per hour. Even if you take the money bonus at the end of Act I, gain 100% completion of all City Takeover gameplay, and fully upgrade your strongholds (which boosts your income in their associated districts), your cash flow will still never crack $50,000 per hour.** Though, this is due to the fact that not every player transfers their money every in-game hour and allows you to stockpile quite a bit of it before withdrawing.*** The above may only apply to certain versions of the game. The [=PS3=] version does not stockpile money - if it's set to collect $43,000 per hour, that's how much will be waiting to be collected, even if you don't pick it up for hours. You still never collect more than $50,000 at one time.* AdamWesting: ''Burt Reynolds'' is the mayor of Steelport. No, seriously.-->'''Boss:''' ''Burt '''fucking''' Reynolds?!''\\'''Burt Reynolds:''' Who else could keep this town running?* AffablyEvil: Ignore the fact that they commit murder and mayhem, including killing cops and civilians, without a hint of remorse, the Protagonist and his/her crew are otherwise depicted as genuinely nice people who are always willing to take a moment to pose for a photo with their fans.** Professor Genki is an adorably excitable and dangerously psychotic murdercat (as he calls himself) that hosts a demented Japanese-style game show where you slaughter mascots for [[NoIndoorVoice CASH IN POCKET!!]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LPmn8of4JM His many quotes bear this out quite well.]] * AffectionateParody:** The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_EKIT9MDM Shock and Awesome]] trailer seems to be this, to ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare3'''s trailers.** The game as a whole feels like a parody of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', particularly ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV''.* AintTooProudToBeg: [[spoiler: Killbane]] begs the Boss not to [[spoiler: unmask]] him and even offers [[spoiler: to teach the Boss the secret of his Apoca-Fists in exchange]] to show how desperate he is.* AirborneAircraftCarrier: STAG has a behemoth of one, the ''Daedalus'', used to bring order to Steelport. To sum up, you ''assault and sabotage'' a giant helicarrier. [[OneManArmy On your own, potentially.]]* AIRoulette: Most of the time, the AI-controlled {{NPC}}s (pedestrians, enemy gangs, cops) behave predictably. But in the case of civilian [=NPC=]s, once you do something to panic them (like, say, start driving the Crusader tank on the street), they lose all sense of intelligence, running towards the vehicle, or running into it from the side, or often just stopping and standing still right in front of your tank. This renders it almost impossible to get from point A to B without running a few people over, though by this point the CGI equivalent of TooDumbToLive applies anyway.** The effect is less common but more pronounced when the {{NPC}}s in question are still in their vehicles, as the default "panicked while driving" action is to drive as fast as possible in some apparently completely random direction. This results in spectacular crashes, pile-ups, and vehicle explosions as often as it results in the {{NPC}} actually getting away. Sometimes it even leads to the driver running over another pedestrian, spooking other {{NPC}}s, which leads to more odd behavior, etc. etc. etc.* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: One Survival mission has you fight off a biker gang.* AllLoveIsUnrequited: ** During the mission 'Three Way', Oleg will admit that he has feelings for Kinzie.** Russian Boss (Female Voice 2) is head over heels for... [[ButtMonkey Pierce]]. Nobody in the gang ever comments on it despite her [[StalkerWithACrush not-so-subtle]] verbal cues.---> '''Female Voice 2:''' I want to make love with Pierce in front of a live studio audience!!\\'''Pierce''' ''(deadpan as with any other option)''''':''' Good to know...** Josh Birk for Shaundi, much to her annoyance. [[spoiler:He even decides to play along with ''his own kidnapping'' once he learns the people kidnapping him work with her.]]* AllWomenAreDomsAllMenAreSubs: Subverted. While female domination has more focus (Safeword, for example...) Kenzie mentions having "teacup" as her personal safeword and owns a gimp mask back at her crib, impling that she may be a sub. In addition, female gimps appear alongside the male gimps walking the streets and the player even has the option of making their entire gang out of gimps of either gender. (Or [[TakeAThirdOption both]] genders.)** Depending how one decides to play a female boss, this can be a dominant (sorry...) theme throughout the game. There's even a costume for it.* AlliterativeName: Kinzie Kensington and Matt Miller.* Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra: Parodied at the beginning of the game along with ''Franchise/StarWars''.* AlternateUniverse: Assuming [[Series/{{Delocated}} Jon]] isn't just joking, we can assume that ''Saints Row'' takes place in a universe where February has 31 days.* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: You can give the Boss either blue, green, pink, or grey/silver/chrome skin. Those are just a few out of ''fifty-five'' colours.** Although most [=NPC=]s are normal-colored, if you have the "Gangstas in Space" DLC installed, you later acquire blue-colored female homies dressed as space aliens.* AmazonBrigade: Excluding the male Lieutenants, the Saints can become one as the gang customization allows you to pick what the unnamed members of your gang look like from a list of presets. Also, an idea early in development was to have the Syndicate sisters at the head of an all-female gang as a counter to the all-male Luchadores, but the idea was scrapped.* AmazonianBeauty: The "beauty" part is optional depending on how one designs the female character's face, but even sticking to the presets, or choosing to make her skinny and lean as opposed to voluptuous and busty, the female Boss is still shown as being taller and more muscular than most male characters. And more than capable of beating anyone up barehanded, especially as seen in the [[spoiler: kill Killbane ending, which has the boss beat the villain to death and break his neck]]. ** Those who are skilled with using character design can more or less recreate Amazonian characters like WonderWoman, Series/{{Xena|Warrior Princess}} and ComicBook/SheHulk for their bosses.* AnachronicOrder: The opening cutscene of the Genkiball quest series contains a note stating that the shooting of the ''Gangstas in Space'' movie is scheduled to begin next month. Ingame, both events are totally independant from each other (they are two different [=DLCs=]) and can be played in any order.* AndThisIsFor: The Boss, if the Female 1 voice is chosen, will give one when planting each explosive during the final mission of the serious ending.--> One for [[spoiler:Shaundi]]... One for [[spoiler:Viola]]... One for my crew... And one just for me.* AntiClimacticUnmasking: Choosing to unmask Killbane will reveal that Eddie Pryor is just an average-looking, middle-aged man with receding, buzzed-short blond hair.-->'''Bobby''': We have seen the face of the Walking Apocalypse and to be honest, it's a man with a receding hairline.* AntiFrustrationFeatures:** The Boss can get stuck in a wall or get trapped under a car, but in these situations, the game will usually load you out of being stuck, meaning you can continue playing as normal. ** Similarly, if The Boss falls into water, rather than having to swim around until you can find a place to climb out, the game allows you to simply "warp to shore".** The mixed tape option for the radio, which allows you to pick and choose a custom soundtrack if (or when, depending on your tastes) the radio stations' soundtracks grate on you.** One of the Vehicle Theft missions requires you to steal a STAG N-Forcer. Vehicle Thefts don't normally accept vehicles spawned from the Garage, but this one allows it so you can complete the mission if you beat the main story first.* AppealToForce: Implied by a PostMortemOneLiner of Female 1's voice, "I always win my arguments!".* ArmCannon: In the mission [=http://deckers.die=], Kinzie gives the Boss a Cyber Buster to fight the Deckers in their usernet, modeled after Franchise/MegaMan's Mega Buster. After you finish the mission, the Boss will be able to use it as a weapon outside of the level. Its FlavorText [[LampshadeHanging lampshades this,]] wondering [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys where Kinzie found the time.]]* ArmiesAreEvil: STAG. To the point where they [[spoiler:will declare martial law, blow up a statue with Saints they've kidnapped on it, place the blame on the gang so they look like terrorists, then try to level the entire city.]] Most of that is only in [[AlternateEnding one ending]], though much of it was at least planned by STAG in any case.* ArrogantKungFuGuy: [[WordOfGod Killbane is something of a dark mirror to the Boss]], obsessed with his fighting prowess and his own legacy. At one point he declares his victims should be ''thanking'' him for the honor of death at his hands.* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:** After the mission to take over the Syndicate's downtown penthouse, the following news broadcast from Jane Valderama mentions the shootout resulted in several dead, and one noise complaint.** Near the end of "Gangstas in Space" Jenny says that she's tired of Zhen trying to kill them, being mean, and his stupid scarf.* ArtEvolution: Compare the "Power" trailer to the more recent in-game footage. Phillipe Loren's hair has gone from black to grey and he looks older. Kinzie in the trailer is [[NerdsAreSexy rather sexy looking]] but in the Deckers Die trailer she's more HollywoodHomely and the Boss' default look is nothing like the one in the trailer.** Which is definitely for the better, as many confused the main character in the Power trailer with Johnny Gat until Johnny himself showed up in it. The devs have even admitted that they made him look a bit too much like Johnny.--->'''Johnny Gat''': Hell yeah. Who doesn't want to be Johnny Gat?* ArtifactTitle: The game is not even set in Stilwater, and in the one mission that ''does'' take place there, you're not within the titular district of it.** But your gang is still ''the Third'' Street ''Saints'', media celebrities or not.* ArtificialBrilliance: ** When a police vehicle is in chase, nearby NPC drivers will pull over to the right side of the road.** If you steal and repaint a Peacemaker squad car, it keeps the police lights in its grill and its siren, allowing you to force traffic the same way.** If you are driving in the oncoming lane and keep honking the horn of your vehicle the cars will try to get out of your way.** Unarmed Brutes will rush to get any flamethrowers or miniguns in case you left one behind; be it an enemy or friendly.*** Likewise fighting [=NPC=]s will rush for a better weapon if one of their buddies carrying one dies (i.e: a Rifle or SMG for its pistol).** If you have more than one gang member or homie following you and pick a car with only one seat, the rest of the group will promptly get another car to keep with you.** If you are being chased, then oncoming enemy cars will swerve sideways to block the road. This is especially troublesome with STAG and luchadore vehicles, since they are fairly large.*** Similarly, at high enough notoriety, police will set up roadblocks to stop you, usually with two vehicles turned to the side. These often include spike strips/plastic barricades in the center, in case you try and ram through.* ArtificialStupidity: Routing issues often prevent characters from getting inside vehicles quickly and efficiently. Especially troublesome during huge gunfights in {{Escort Mission}}s.** After the final mission, STAG leaves town, but they don't lower the bridges connecting Downtown with the rest of the city. AI-controlled cars will attempt to jump the bridges, but at their regular speed, not with a running start. The vast majority don't make it.** AI drivers in general are pretty dumb, frequently driving recklessly and causing hit-and-runs out of the blue against random pedestrians - you included. If you thought the drivers in [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV Liberty City]] were bad, you've never been to Steelport.** If you park a vehicle in the middle of a busy street, other cars will attempt to nudge it out of the way. They do this even if the vehicle in question is a VTOL or a tank. They can and will futilely batter themselves against such a vehicle until they damage themselves enough to explode.** Pierce is worse than useless in the unpatched game; he's an actual liability. As well as needing rescuing every ten seconds he actively tries to make you fail the mission where you have to stop the truck transporting the computer, he's only too happy to destroy it despite being told not to. Fortunately, this was eventually fixed.** What's the biggest obstacle in the "Live With Killbane Mission?" Not the time limit, not the waves of Deckers, not controlling the helicopter. It's Shaundi falling out of the broken windows of the building and dying.** Jimmy in ''The Trouble With Clones'' might mess up and smash his mom's car into an unbreakable obstacle blocking his predetermined path. He'll then back up and do it again, back up and do it again, back up and do it again, back up and do it again, [[OverlyLongGag back up and do it again, back up and do it again, back up and do it again, back up and do it again]] until it's destroyed. Since the car is ridiculously armored, this can take a while.* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Killbane uses this rule to take over direction of TheSyndicate after [[spoiler: you kill Loren]]. Despite Matt Miller suggesting that it might make more sense to leave Loren's CoDragons, the [=DeWynter=] twins, in charge.* AstralFinale: Played with [[spoiler:if you go to rescue your friends in the final story mission. The mission after that is "Gangstas in Space" where you fight Killbane on Mars. You're actually filming a movie.]]* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Played straight by the Boss.** Averted by Loren, leader of Morning Star. Though having forged the Syndicate, he is never seen in a fight. ** Averted by Matt Miler, leader of the Deckers. He's only seen fighting once, and it's in a usenet. He also ''loses''.* {{Autosave}}: The game has this.* AutoTune: Zimos is a pimp who, thanks to his smoking habit, had to have a tracheotomy, which forces him to speak with a voice box. Deciding to make the best of the situation, he has it built into his pimp-cane and has Auto-Tune installed in the box, and he practically sings his dialogue. Every word that comes out of his mouth sounds like T-Pain.* AwesomeButImpractical: The STAG laser guns. They've naturally got unlimited ammo, but they overheat from too much use and in most cases it's faster to just reload with a regular weapon than wait for the STAG weapon to cool down. Once you unlock instant reload (which removes the need to reload altogether) and unlimited bullets for any rifle and shotgun, the STAG weapons become totally superfluous.* AxCrazy: The Boss, above all, but the second BigBad is definitely a candidate for this trope as well.* BackstoryOfTheDay: PlayedForLaughs in the mission "Three Way"; when Pierce asks The Boss and Oleg if they want to get anything off their chest in case they die, The Boss will reveal something completely irrelevant but humorous about their private life that never comes up again. [[note]]The different Boss voices have different secrets.[[/note]]-->'''Male Voice 1''': [[spoiler: I've read Literature/JaneEyre 13 times!]]-->'''Male Voice 2''': [[spoiler: I have an irrational fear of bees!]]-->'''Male Voice 3''': [[spoiler: I call chips 'fries'!]]-->'''Female Voice 1''': [[spoiler: I'm on a co-ed curling team!]]-->'''Female Voice 2''': [[spoiler: I want to make love to Pierce in front of a live audience!]] [[note]]Amusingly enough, Pierce does not react at all despite being with her. Most likely because she already makes her interest in him apparent throughout the game.[[/note]]-->'''Female Voice 3''': [[spoiler: I collect glass unicorns!]]-->'''Zombie Voice''': [[spoiler: Uhh, I'm fluent in six languages!]]* BadassGrandpa: Phillipe Loren, as well as the Boss if you wish.* BadassLongcoat: The Boss has one of these with two undershirts to choose from.* BadassLongRobe: The new Cardinal outfit and a bathrobe.* BadBadActing: Gangstas in Space uses and abuses this.--->'''Male Voice 1''': It's not just the city, it's the CIT- Fuck! I mean world! Shit! Sorry!** Then there's the Boss trying hard to pretend he's Cyrus Temple in Kia's presence. [[spoiler:She doesn't catch on until the real Temple radios in saying he'll be coming to interrogate Shaundi soon.]]* BadBoss:** Zhen in Gangstas In Space. He never stops harping on Jenny's acting, and praises everything Boss does despite them being a horrendous actor. [[spoiler: Jenny ends up being fed up with Zhen's BS and kills him by ramming a spaceship into his back at the end of the DLC.]]** Killbane sends a bunch of men to attack Johnny Gat's funeral procession, while they're stuck on a bridge. Killbane then blows up the bridge with rockets while his own men are on it, with just as many Luchadores killed by the attack as Saints.** Hell, the Boss him/herself can be this if you wish to make them so. All those homies that you see hanging around the HQ? You're free to beat them up, shoot them, or throw them off the building whenever you want (they'll just respawn anyway). * BagOfSpilling: At the beginning of the game, the Saints are celebrities and have more money and guns than they know what to do with. After the failed heist on the Morningstar's bank, the crew gets captured by the Morningstar and are stripped of their weapons. Even when the Saints escape, Lorene has Matt Miller hack the Saints' bank account to steal their money, leaving the gang with nothing but the clothes on their backs.* BeeBeeGun: The Swarmitron in the ''Trouble With Clones'' DLC's second mission.* BerserkButton: Phillipe doesn't like it when you call him French.-->'''Boss''': Listen, you French fuck!\\'''Phillipe''': Please! I am Belgian. \\'''Gat''': So make yourself a fuckin' waffle! We're done here.** Then Gat makes it official when he does it again and the result is him getting killed.--->'''Gat''': You're gonna need more help than that, Frenchie.\\'''Phillipe''': [[PunctuatedForEmphasis I. Am. Belgian.]]\\'''Gat''': Same thing!\\'''Philippe Loren''': [[UnstoppableRage I am going to ''cut'' that disrespectful tongue from your mouth.]]** The Boss pushes it a third and final time as s/he kills Loren. Of course, Loren can't hear it at the time, but it's no less awesome.--->'''Boss''': [[PreMortemOneLiner I'M COMING FOR YA, FRENCHIE!]]** Don't disrespect Killbane. Particularly not by repeatedly using his real name, Eddie Pryor. [[spoiler: Kiki [=DeWynter=] [[NeckSnap finds this out the hard way.]]]]* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: In the "Genkibowl VII" DLC, during the Sad Panda Skyblazing activity the announcers mention that some Mascots are choosing to jump off rooftops rather than face your {{Chainsaw| Good}}.* BigBad: Philippe Loren, head of TheSyndicate. Killbane and Cyrus both take his place as a BigBadEnsemble after his death in Act 1.* BigDamnHeroes: ** In one of the endings, [[spoiler: the Boss single handily storms Magarac Island to rescue Shaundi, Viola, Mayor Burt Reynolds, and the island itself from being blown up by STAG, dodging soldiers and shooting the bombs into the sea. (This also serves as the canonical ending of the game)]]. Appropriately, "Holding Out For a Hero" plays in the background throughout.** Some of the Survival missions involve you saving innocents from the Syndicate.* BigFancyHouse: Several cribs in the game.* BigNo: ** Killbane if you choose to [[spoiler: unmask him]].** Also done at least 4 times in the Gangstas In Space ending, once for every "death" of your homies, and then a 4th when the LukeIAmYourFather bombshell is dropped. PlayedForLaughs, of course. To put it into perspective, each one of them is a very LOUD SkywardScream that shakes the camera - and all of them are the same StockScream of your character when falling from great heights.* BiggerBad: [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV Zinyak]].* BiggerIsBetterInBed[=/=]BuxomIsBetter: The only effect the sex appeal slider seems to have is increasing the size of the female character's breasts or the male character's package.* BilingualBonus: ** Philippe rants in French when Johnny holds him off to let Boss and Shaundi flee. As expected of a Belgian (or at least, a Wallonian), his French is flawless.-->'''Philippe''': Ah, putain de merde! Ouvrez-moi cette porte! Je veux sa tête!-->'''Translation''': Oh [[ClusterFBomb fucking shit]]! Open up that door! I want his head!** One of the Taunt/Compliment gestures you can choose is called "Of the River," which makes the Boss or the Saints perform the [[DanceSensation Macarena]]. The group that originally performed the Macarena [[AnyoneRememberPogs when it was popular]] was Los ''del Rio.''[[note]]''"del rio"'' being Spanish for "Of the river," though technically the group's full name translates to "The ones from the river."[[/note]] * BittersweetEnding: No matter which ending you choose, since [[SadisticChoice there are two things on the line and you can't have both]]. [[spoiler:If you choose to save Shaundi, Viola, and Burt, you stop Kia from framing the Saints for blowing up the Magarac Island monument. STAG even gets called off due to this new good publicity. This ending affirms Johnny's thoughts that the Saints have begun to lose touch with their roots and are slowly becoming complete corporate whores. To hammer the point in, the follow-up mission is a Saints movie shoot, something the Boss was against at the start of the prior mission. The other choice is to go after Killbane, who even gives a speech that is an IronicEcho to what Johnny said. You will later hold a(nother) funeral for recently fallen comrades and get to confront STAG head-on and kill Cyrus. After that, the Saints take over Steelport and declare it as a sovereign city-state (as well as an awesome taunt at Monica Hughes to try and stop them) on now international television. This ending shows that the Saints haven't gone soft and are still a BadassCrew willing to get dirty, but you let Shaundi, Viola, and Burt Reynolds die. Pierce gives you a WasItReallyWorthIt and you can't answer.]]** The sequel [[CuttingOffTheBranches follows from the former ending]], but it's not so bittersweet anymore because being [[spoiler:President of the United States]] is ''much'' cooler than being a gritty, hard-ass gang leader.* GrayAndGrayMorality: The choice in the games amount to whether the Saints become sell outs who prefer money over what they are or being true to themselves. The thing is being true to themselves means cold blooded killers who lead city through fear instead of P.R. For example you can sell the cargo of sex slaves back to the Syndicate for a huge amount of cash or keep the sex slaves and make your own racket.* BlownAcrossTheRoom: [[http://www.saintsrow.com/news/detail/article/251733/welcome_to_weapon_week! According to this article on the official site,]] the fully upgraded [=McManus=] 2015 sniper rifle is powerful enough to make anybody shot by it occasionally fly backwards. You can also buy "Muscles" upgrades that let you toss around mooks like paper airplanes, and explosive bullets for guns with that upgrade also make people fly around more when you kill them.* BoisterousWeakling: [=NPC=]s may sometimes hold signs calling for the Saints to leave Steelport, but they quickly disperse if you approach. Unless you run them over, of course.* BoobsOfSteel: The female protagonist if you decide to ramp up the sex appeal slider. * BookDumb: The Boss, coupled with LogicalFallacies.--> '''Boss:''' Okay, nerd time is over. Why do we need this chair, and Kinzie, for fuck's sake, keep it simple.\\'''Kinzie:''' Ugh. I need the chair. To stop the Deckers.\\'''Boss:''' Thank you!** Another example:---> '''Pierce:''' What's the plan?\\'''Boss:''' (''disguised as Cyrus'') It's simple, we go in, rescue Shaundi, then go back out.\\'''Pierce:''' So what if they shoot at us?\\'''Boss:''' Stop bringing logic into this conversation!** When Kinzie tries to explain something about Matt's computer this might come up.--->Blah blah blah geek talk blabity blab blah blah.* BoringButPractical: The dual wield upgrade is obtainable very early and not that fancy compared to [[UpToEleven what you can pull off later]], but skilled players can stroll through the game with just fully-upgraded dual pistols.* BossArenaIdiocy:** Played straight with Kia who fights in an arena surrounded by gas grenades which can be used to free her hostage.** Lampshaded with [[spoiler:"Killbane" in the Gangsta's In Space ending]]:-->"This suit is impervious to everything save for conveniently-placed lava crystals!"* BossInMookClothing / MetalSlime: The rarely-appearing "Professor Genki" mascot drops $400,000 when killed, but has more HP than a Brute and usually carries a rocket launcher. And attacks everything on sight when you attack him. Oh, and his melee attacks usually knock about 90 percent of your health out in one blow. The best strategy is to just keep hitting him in the balls or using melee takedowns and attacking him while he's on the ground; Or you could just [[CarFu hit him with a car, and don't stop rolling over him until he's dead.]]* BottomlessMagazines: Some missions give you infinite ammo for that mission only. Once you hit level 50, you're allowed to buy permanent infinite ammunition (though you have to buy it separately for each weapon category, and it costs a ''ton'' of cash to get them all). In addition, along the way you can also upgrade your reloading speed to the point where you don't ''need'' to reload and can fire for as long as you have ammo (which means forever once you have the infinite ammo).** The weapons used by STAG are specifically designed to eliminate the need for reloading. They can still overheat though.* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: The description for the vehicle theft mission involving the Stork helicopter has Rigg say that it's good for carrying smuggled goods, smuggled people or smuggled people with smuggled goods in them.* BreakingTheFourthWall[=/=]LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The Caucasian female's voice has this amusing little quote which is heard either on the voice selection screen or occasionally if she's left standing idle for a while:-->"I told my therapist I'm not responsible for awful things I do... It's almost as if someone else is controlling me."** And then there's this from the Russian female voice:-->[[RussianReversal "In Soviet Steelport, game plays you."]]** [[Series/{{Delocated}} Jon]], the DJ of the Creator/AdultSwim radio station, will [[TakeThat talk directly]] to [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech the player]] at one point, commenting how pathetic and sad it is to be listening to a fictional radio show inside a video game. He also will sometimes note that you're listening to the station's "12 songs that randomly repeat forever rock block".** In the final mission of The Trouble With Clones DLC, [[spoiler:the Boss gains telepathy from the irradiated Saints Flow and banters with Jimmy Torbitson's inner monologue.]]** This starts as early as the very first mission:-->'''Shaundi:''' How long until the chopper gets here?\\'''Johnny Gat:''' I dunno, about... [[HoldTheLine two waves of SWAT guys]]?\\'''Shaundi:''' Sounds about right.** Also used humorously in an early mission with Pierce when Boss finds the first sex doll box:-->'''Boss''': Pierce, what the hell is this?\\'''Pierce''': Oh that... It's a little hobby of mine.\\'''Boss''': Okay, I'm outta here.\\'''Pierce''': Shit, I didn't mean it like that! They're collectable, you're supposed to try and find them all.\\'''Boss''': People collect some weird shit...* BribingYourWayToVictory: An in-game example: as you collect money, you buy various character and gun upgrades. Also, to get complete control of an area, you'll need to buy stores and buildings. Or you can get up to two one-time deals to just completely take over an entire 'hood.** In a more real life example, two of the game's [[DownloadableContent DLC packs]] - the Unlockable and Bloodsucker Packs - gained reputations as permanent game easy buttons that you couldn't turn off. The Unlockable Pack gives you both options of every [[TwoRoadsBeforeYou one-or-the-other]] quest reward after you complete a very early mission, while the Bloodsucker Pack gives you every cash, income, and reputation bonus available in the game plus some extra on top of that [[DiscOneNuke from the beginning of the game]].* BrickJoke: In the beginning of the mission "Live! With Killbane", the news ticker mentions a boy convincing his parents to get him an adult elephant. At the end of the serious ending, the news ticker mentions a funeral planned for a boy trampled by an elephant.** Early on in the game, Johnny tells Loren to go make himself a [Belgian] waffle. If playing with the Female 2 voice, the Boss has this to say after [[spoiler:dropping the giant metal ball on Loren]]:-->"Well, Johnny, it looks like he made himself a crepe instead."*** Male Voice 1 comments on how he should have made such a joke:--->"Dammit, I should have made a 'Belgian pancake' joke."* BringMyBrownPants: After completing the "Ho Boat" mission, a news report describes your midair firefight and ends with that, while the contents of the cargo container were unknown, what fell to the ground stank like urine.* ButtMonkey: Pierce is actually competent this time around and can both sell merchandise and stand his own in a firefight. However, the Boss still openly ridicules him for not quite standing up to his/her standards of badass and ''still'' gets ignored. Pierce, at one point, asks to be promoted to manager of Planet Saints, and is promptly laughed at by the Boss (who thinks he's actually joking).** [[spoiler: Though in the serious ending, when Steelport needs a new mayor... [[ThrowTheDogABone guess who gets the job?]]]]* CallBack:** Remember when [[PlayerCharacter the Boss]] sang along to ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9BoIEY4xA4 Take On Me]]'' with any voice set, and other songs on different voice sets? Well all the new voice sets, as well as [[ButtMonkey Pierce]], at one point during an early mission sing along to Music/{{Sublime}}'s ''What I Got''.** In one of the Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax activities, one of the announcers tells that he visited Stilwater once and ended with his car covered in sewage by a septic truck. This refers to a ''Saints Row 2'' activity, either FUZZ [[note]]you're dressed as a cop and commit acts of police brutality for a television show; one of the random tasks you receive is to stop a septic truck spilling sewage in the streets[[/note]] or Septic Avenger[[note]]you spill sewage everywhere on the streets in a septic truck[[/note]].** Both endings to the mission "Three Way" are call-backs to specific boss fights from the previous two games: resulting in either [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/SaintsRow1 a chase through an airport tarmac, with you firing rockets at a fleeing gang leader's plane from the passenger seat of an ally's convertible]]]] or [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/SaintsRow2 a boss fight with an enemy using Shaundi as a human shield, who you need to use stun grenades to beat]]]].* TheCameo: The only man able to hold a city like Steelport together as its Mayor? [[spoiler:Burt Reynolds]].** If [[spoiler:Burt later becomes a "homie", when called for assistance he shows up in a vehicle based on the car he drove in ''SmokeyAndTheBandit'']].* CaptainErsatz: While massive over-muscled brutes with heavy weapons are a [[TheBrute common video game enemy stereotype]], the ones present here look suspiciously similar to miniboss enemies from ''VideoGame/{{Bulletstorm}}''. Another character decides that the most fitting name for a brute is [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Brick]].** Minigun brutes are just one reskin away from being a [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 Heavy]]. Justified as their prototype is a massive [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong Russian]], and actually semi-acknowledged by Valve as you could get Killbane's [[MaskedLuchador luchador mask]] and Apoco-Fists for your Heavy as a part of a promotional offer.** Finally, a zombified one shows up in several missions... and a Whored Mode level simply called, [[VideoGame/Left4Dead "Tank!"]].* CaptureAndReplicate: TheSyndicate captures Oleg Krilov and keeps him sedated in their labs to mass-produce [[TheBrute clones of him]] and throw them at the Saints. One mid-game mission sees the Saints infiltrating said labs and freeing Oleg to stop the clone production.* CarFu: Respect increases a little every time the player runs someone over with the vehicle they're driving. There's also a reward for running over a certain number of people.* CatchPhrase: Professor Genki and the Boss with Male Voice 1 both have: "Murder time, Fun time!"-->'''Male Voice 1''': "That gets the blood pumping... to my loins!"-->'''Male Voice 2''': "I love this town!"-->'''Male Voice 3''': "Listen here, sunshine..."-->'''Female Voice 1''': "Not cool!"-->'''Female Voice 2''': "Comrade!"-->'''Female Voice 3''': "I've got to defend the Saints!"-->'''Zombie Voice''': "OOH REH CHEH BLEH GAH!"* {{Catgirl}}: The Genki girls in Genkibowl VII, Angry Tiger and Sexy Kitten. The exception is Sad Panda, since she's a sexy Panda.* TheCavalry: Purchasing the "Saints Backup" upgrade gives a chance that Saints redshirts will show up to help you after you get into a fight, or you can manually request it.** During the course of the game, the Boss also accumulates "homies" that can be called in (a maximum of three at a time) to help deal with fights or just to go bombing around Steelport with.** Choosing a particular option during the game will also allow you to call a small ''zombie horde'' to your location.** Any friendly [=NPC=]s will also automatically join in if the Boss is attacked or begins a fight outside of a Survival wave, etc.* TheCavalryArrivesLate: Redshirt Saints will usually show after you complete a Survival mission, late for the heavy lifting.* CelebrityParadox: Not returning Josh Birk to STAG unlocks him as a homie, both as himself and as his TV character Nyte Blayde. You can have Josh and Nyte Blayde as homies at the same time.* CentralTheme: ** Buried underneath all the [[DenserAndWackier silliness]] and RoaringRampageOfRevenge, the Saints' new fame at the start of the game leads to an identity crisis. Some missions with multiple resolution choices, particularly the penultimate mission, let you weigh in on this. What exactly do the Saints stand for? Summed up nicely with the following exchange:--> '''Johnny Gat:''' Birk's right--we traded our dicks in for pussies. Seriously... Movie deals? Commercials? The Saints name used to mean more than body spray and some ass-tasting energy drink. \\'''The Boss:''' Our brand's worth a shitload of money. \\'''Johnny Gat:''' Is that what it's all about?** Monica Hughes and Cyrus Temple's disagreement on how to fight gangs highlights the two paths: "Hearts and Minds" and "Shock and Awe". The chat between the Boss and Viola about how many guards are assigned to Josh Birk when kidnapping him also shows this.* ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: Averted. The Boss can only change clothes in cribs and stores, and if a firefight follows him/her into a clothing shop, he/she will be dropped out of the clothing interface and back into combat--sometimes half dressed (unless you've bought said store, since entering will automatically wipe your notoriety).* CharacterizationMarchesOn: ** Shaundi has become serious-minded and has dropped her "stoner college drop-out" act. Though the issue of her innumerable former boyfriends still come up. She's also subject to RunningGag about the sheer amount of people who openly admit their PerverseSexualLust for her or have slept with her on radio, in pedestrian dialogue and even the Professor Genki game show.** Pierce has become more of a slickster, but still manages to retain some of his ButtMonkey repertoire.* ChoiceOfTwoWeapons: For most of the game, the gun store offers two basic types for each gun, usually skewing to speciality vs. accuracy. Weapons in the former category shoot more slowly and are less accurate, but can be upgraded to have explosive or incendiary rounds, weapons in the latter category are usually modified to shoot faster and be more precise with armor-piercing rounds.* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Zimos disappears once you take control of the rest of the Morningstar and New Colvin, as opposed to the rest of the lieutenants who hang around as consultants. Justified as he's really only a foot in the door against the Morning Star's sex operations. Once [[spoiler:Viola joins the team, you effectively have the head of the Morning Star in your posse]], leaving the Deckers and the Luchadores last. Besides, if anything, Zimos is akin to [[VideoGame/SaintsRow1 Warren]] from the first game: better at being money makers for the gang than actual fighters.* ChurchMilitant: The Cyprian Order in the ShowWithinAShow Nyte Blayde.* CloneDegeneration: The Brutes, as well as [[spoiler:Johnny Tag]], are far more stupid and more... [[ShapedLikeItself brutal]] than the originals. In the latter case, the creator suggests that he just didn't have enough DNA samples to copy him properly.* ClownCar: In the free-fall shootout at the start of the game, Boss [[LampshadeHanging loudly wonders]] just how many vehicles and crates were being stored on the plane that they're falling from. You end up blasting your way through or dodging well over 40.* CompensatingForSomething: Remember how the Brotherhood in ''[=SR2=]'' drove the massive Compensator pickup trucks? The Luchadores follow suit - not surprising given that they're basically the Brotherhood with more green.* ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike: Shaundi in the second mission, although she ''does'' have a point when she calls the Boss a "fucking asshole".* ContinuityNod: Several, from Cyrus mentioning Jessica's death as a reason why they need to take down the boss, to the boss mentioning having dealt with zombies before ([[spoiler: Zombie Lin in ''1'' and Zombie Carlos in ''2'']]).** One of the Professor Genki moderators will also mention having been in Stilwater once, driving in a convertible, when some idiot was driving around spraying feces around with a septic truck. Guess who?** Some buildings and vehicles, such as the silos on Arapice Island, have the Ultor logo on them. Doubly so, said silos apparently contain [[spoiler:a zombie virus that Tera Patrick was researching in the ''Saints Row 2: Ultor Exposed'' DLC, which is released when the player unintentionally crashes a STAG plane into them, releasing the virus and creating zombies.]]** Jane Valderamma greets the Boss with "It's been a while", referring to her involvement with the Saints in the previous game.** In one of the endings, [[spoiler: Kia lists off all the friends that were indirectly killed because of the Boss, including Lin, Carlos, Aisha, and Johnny Gat.]]*** Viola says something similar during the mission to [[spoiler:kidnap Josh Birk/Nyte Blayde]], referencing "a coma" (the explanation for your character surviving the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'' epilogue/ending and resurfacing in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'') and "three friends dead", then sarcastically remarking how it really worked out for you.** In the start of the game after being kidnapped by the Morningstar, Phillpe Lorene offers the saints to spare their lives if they give up a huge chunk of their profits (and the rates are before taxes are applied). The Boss and Johnny Gat defiantly refuse the offer since they already went through the same nonsense with the Brotherhood gang in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''.* CoolBike: The Estrada and Kaneda are cool as usual, but once you complete all the Cyber Blazing activities you get your very own [[Film/{{Tron}} light cycle]].* CoolCar: It wouldn't be a ''Saints Row'' game without them. Rim Jobs makes a return from previous games and offers more customization options than ever. If the player still isn't satisfied with what they have avalible in the vanilla game they can also pay money for a few special vehicle pack [=DLCs=] which include things like the [[CrazyAwesome Genki Manapault]] and [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier Saints Enforcer.]]* CoolestClubEver: The "Power" trailer takes place in one of these, though it's actually the Saints penthouse and the Syndicate end up crashing the party and a massive firefight breaks out (though in the game, it's really hooker assassins who attempt to kill you, not Phillipe Loren and Morning Star.)* CovertPervert: Kinzie. When you are doing the mission to rescue Zimos, she will casually mention that her safe word is 'tea cup'. She also owns a gimp mask and her own copy of the [[GagPenis Penetrator]]. When the Boss and Pierce are invited to her safehouse and Kinzie has her back turned while she's spouting off techno babble, Pierce picks up the Penetrator with a puzzled look on his face. The Boss just shakes his/her head, notifying him to leave it alone.* TheCracker: Matt Miller and the rest of The Deckers.* CrapsaccharineWorld: The whole world of Professor Genki.* CriticalAnnoyance: In this version, you get a low health alert. The high-tech vehicles also have a version of their own, with a constant alarm if they received enough damage.* CrooksAreBetterArmed: The Saints and the Deckers have cutting edge weapon tech, while Steelport police has your run-of-the-mill hardware. Subverted half-way through the game, though, when STAG (essentially, a beefed-up crime fighting agency) shows up in Steelport and fields futuristic weapon designs years ahead of everything the gangs have (but which they quickly appropriate).* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: Letting the audibly sobbing girls in the back of a van free instead of condemning them to a life of sexual slavery for either the Syndicate or the Saints isn't an option.** It is, however, hinted that Zimos takes much better care of his girls than the Syndicate does.* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:If you choose to go after Killbane in "The Three Way", the Boss's final confrontation with the Walking Apocalypse takes the form of a simple quicktime event where the Boss beats twenty types of crap out of Killbane before snapping his neck.]]* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Invoked with the protagonist and the new hair and eye color options.* CutAndPasteEnvironments: The game loves to reuse areas. The insides of each shop look the same as every other shop of the same name. Strongholds get a bit standardised once you take them over, instead of using their pre-existing interiors which look different from each other.** Sometimes it's more subtle. The warehouse you chase the Morning Star lieutenant to in "Party Time" (early in the game) is the same warehouse that Kinzie takes up residence in (much later in the game). Another example is the mission "Pimps Up, Hos Down" which has the player re-visit a BDSM club not too long after their first visit, but [[MushroomSamba drugged up]] this time. But between the blurriness, screen wobbling, nakedness, and general rushed lead-up to the start of the mission, the player is unlikely to notice.** This is even lampshaded in the radio adverts for the Irish bars; "All of our interiors are exactly alike so we can pass the savings on to you!"* {{Cyberpunk}}: The style for the Deckers. With a little {{Goth}} thrown in.* {{Cyberspace}}: [[http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/09/12/tron-don-saints-row-3s-virtual-reality/ Next stop: The Decker User Net]].* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Several buttons are mapped differently compared to ''Saints' Row 2''. The driving controls now actually help with driving and aiming your gun, but the sprint button in past games now throws grenades instead, with sprint being on LB like some other games. How do you take human shields, then? Y. (Which causes problems when you try to participate in a photo op with a Saints fan and instead take the poor sap as a human shield by accident.)** Zoom/melee attack have been swapped between RS and LT, and jump and reload weapon are also swapped between A and X. Also, the driving controls now have accelerate on RT, brake on LT, handbrake on A, and shoot on LB (which, being a shoulder button, is insanely hard and inefficient to use for shooting! And that's when NOT driving the car, moving, or facing the rear view!) In a nutshell, on-foot controls are a bit more like ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' (save for sprint and crouch, which follows the convention set by ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' and ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}''), while driving controls are more like ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' as opposed to earlier ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games.** Also, to get into a car, take a human shield, and enter shop mode is all done the same button, unlike in ''2'' where human shield had its own button/key. And in the case of human shields, has to be prompted by correct character positioning, leading to times you try to get into a car when you wanted to take a human shield and vice versa.*** On PC, the collectable photo shoot acceptance is the same button as take a hostage. So you can end up screwing up a photo op by taking the guy hostage because you moved slightly out of the way. ** The weirdest part? ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' at least lets you customize the gamepad control mappings in the PC version, while ''The Third'' forces you to use the defaults. Ironically, the PC port of ''2'' is considered a PortingDisaster while ''The Third'' is supposed to be a PolishedPort.*** It's difficult trying to switch controls for keyboard/mouse as well - try to bind an action to a key that already has more than one command bound to it within that section of the controls menu (say, mouse wheel directions for switching weapons and changing the sniper rifle's zoom in "General") and the other actions will be ''forcibly unbound''.** Also unlike ''2'', you only need to tap the button/key in order to take a human shield, whereas in the previous game you had to hold and release the button, and tapping the button would instead grab and throw the human shield.* DarkerAndEdgier: The original canonical ending is infinitely darker than everything else that has happened or would happen in the Saints' universe, save for maybe Carlos' MercyKill and Zinyak's destruction of the Earth. The Boss knowingly and willfully let two loyal Saints die, all other remaining Saints stick with him simply because they fear [[TheDreaded him]] more than anyone else, a member of the U.S. government successfully stages a FalseFlagOperation which leads the government to try to outright bomb its own city to oblivion, and at the end, the Saints takes over the government of Steelport through sheer force of fear and becomes a full-fledged insurgent separatist [[DividedStatesOfAmerica force]]. Just what kind of response do they think that would [[CivilWar incite]]?* DeadlyGame: Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax. "Murder Time Fun Time!"* DeadpanSnarker: The American female protagonist voice.* DefeatMeansFriendship: Morningstar, Deckers, and Luchadores in the story missions allows you to have members of the three gangs appear as Saints {{Mooks}} too.* DenserAndWackier: The game is mostly made up out of this trope applied to the already-boundary-pushing Saint's Row 2.* DevelopersForesight:** If you're on a vehicle theft mission and you try to deliver a vehicle that's on fire, i.e. about to explode, you get the message that "the shop doesn't want a burning vehicle".** Also see GameplayAndStoryIntegration below. The dialogue of the Boss disguised as Commander Temple changes slightly depending on which voice set the boss normally has.** Trying to kill the Professor Genki mascot with the Mollusk Launcher (Genki's own invention) won't work because he's immune to the effect. (UNETHICAL!)** If it starts raining and the Boss happens to be completely nude, s/he will stoop over and start shivering when standing still.* DidntSeeThatComing: The Saints are never afraid to push the envelope:--> '''Murderbrawl Announcer:''' Oh my God, [[spoiler: a chainsaw!]]** Actually, the radio advertizes that the Murderbrawl Chainsaw is a signature tradition at the event, however, may not always be used every time or every year.** The opening bank robbery. All the tellers are strapped and willing to defend themselves, turning into a massive shootout. "Huh. That's different..."* DifficultySpike: If you can, do the Mayhem activity and Survival mission on Arapice Island ''before'' you do the mission "Air Steelport," which turns the island into a miniature ZombieApocalypse. Those missions (particularly Mayhem) are hard enough to do all on their own without being {{Zerg Rush}}ed by zombie hordes at the same time.** The Mayhem mission however is less of a concern, since you are given infinite rocket ammo and killing zombies adds to the total damage value. If anything, not having swarms of zombies around can make the mission harder.* DigitalAvatar: The last Deckers mission, [=http://deckers.die=], has you taking on the Deckers in cyberspace. As the Deckers screw with the system, your avatar takes on various shapes, particularly that of a blow-up doll, a hybrid of VideoGame/MegaMan and [[Film/{{Tron}} Tron]], [[spoiler:[[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever a giant dragon warrior]]]], and a toilet. Yep, ''actual'' ToiletHumour in a ''Saints Row'' game. Who've thought? Once you complete the game, you can play as the blow-up doll and the toilet.* DiscOneNuke: The entire city is available from the start, and after a couple easy missions you have all the activities available to play. Feel free to go through them and unlock all sorts of powerful weapons and ability upgrades (not to mention money) before really getting into the story, and become a nigh-unstoppable killing machine.** You can hang around the National Guard depot until you gain enough wanted stars to spawn tanks, which you can then steal and take back to the garage. You have the option of using your own vehicle on some of the side-missions, which means you can do Drug Runs in tanks, operating the mounted gun while the dealer drives around the city in the tank.** You get your second crib, which has a helipad, early in the game. Likewise, you can raid the National Guard depot again for armed helicopters.** One of the biggest money-makers is finding (and killing) Professor Genki - if you pull that off, you get an easy 100k at the very least, which can pretty much set you up for every upgrade early-game. Though Professor Genki seems to ghave an insane number of hitpoints, he can be very easily killed if you run over him with a vehicle.** The AR-55 assault rifle is unlocked in gunshops after [[spoiler: Phillipe Loren's death]], but you can pick up a free one a lot earlier, from Grigor's corpse, the target of one of the assassination missions available after you get the first crib.** Some of the DLC for [=SR3=] gives you a Saints-themed STAG quality laser-armed tank and armored car from the beginning, as well as guns like the Professor Genki mind-controlling cuddly octopus gun and the sewer-shark summoning shotgun. These make the early parts of the game almost trivial, even on the highest difficulty.** The expensive [=McManus=] 2015 sniper rifle theorically becomes available for sale at the same time. You can acquire it earlier from dead Morningstar specialists or from one of the mascots from the first Professor Genki activity.*** While most DLC simply gives you access to powerful items, leaving their use up to the player, two of them actually force a Disc One Nuke on the player. The Bloodsucker Pack gives you huge percentage bonuses to all cash and respect earned (+40%) along with a flat hourly income bonus from the moment you start the game, while the Unlockable Pack gives you both options of every [[TwoRoadsBeforeYou quest reward choice]] in the entire game before you even finish the first act, well before any of the choices are actually offered. Making matters worse, there's no way to disable either DLC once installed, and only one can be fixed by mods. The only way to disable the DLC is to demand [=Valve/Microsoft/Sony=] flat-out remove it from your account completely. Steam eventually did add the option to uninstall specific DLC, but this was several years after the game came out. Consequently, both DLC were omitted from [[GameOfTheYearEdition The Full Package]] version of the game.** During the mission where you get your second crib it's possible to get a rocket launcher by quickly killing some of the enemies at the end of the mission. You can also buy ammo for it despite the weapon not being sold at that time. With a fully stocked rocket launcher in hand trouble with brutes, vehicles and crowds become a thing of the past.* DisproportionateRetribution: ** One of the assassination sidequests has you executing a pizza delivery boy... because the person who put out the hit ''always'' ends up with the wrong topping whenever he orders a pizza.** Cops will try to kill you for streaking or shoving them aside while sprinting.*** In fact, Cops are pretty touchy in general, and not just with the player. If an [=NPC=] so much as bumps a cop car with their vehicle, they will be stopped, grabbed from their vehicle, thrown to the ground, and shot until dead.* DistaffCounterpart: There is a non-violent, female Brute that can be seen in the Pimps Up, Hos Down mission in the game. The "Brutella" also appears in Whored Mode. There is also a Brute form for [[spoiler: Aisha and Johnny Gat]], as well.** This can also apply to the Boss, as well.* DividedStatesOfAmerica: One of the possible endings has the Boss [[spoiler: TakeOverTheCity and declare Steelport's independence from the United States of America as a sovereign city-state]]. Whether this actually works will presumably be the topic of Saints Row 4.** [[spoiler: Seems to not be the case in Saints Row IV, as Shaundi is alive and the Boss is acting even more over the top than before, instead of going back to his/her roots.]]* DoNotCallMePaul: Killbane doesn't like being called by his real name, Eddie Pryor. [[BerserkButton Repeated use of it out of spite]] drove him to [[spoiler: snap Kiki [=DeWynter's=]]] neck. As long as it's an honest mistake and you're not using his name just to piss him off he'll let you go with a correction, as seen when Jane Valderamma mistakenly calls him Eddie; he just waves it off with a request to call him Killbane.* DoubleTap: One of the {{Finishing Move}}s on Brutes - backhand the GiantMook onto the ground, then shoot it in the head repeatedly until it explodes.* DownloadableContent: The game comes with multiple weapon, vehicle and cheat packs already on the disc, which only require a specific code, or a cracked executable file, to unlock.* DragonAscendant: You kill off Phillipe Loren surprisingly early into the game, and [[spoiler:Killbane takes over the Syndicate by virtue of "he can kill anyone in the room with his bare hands."]]* TheDreaded: In the bad ending, it's implied that the remaining Saints stick with the Boss mostly because they can't ever afford to piss off that guy.* DrivingStick: Johnny can't drive stick, according to Shaundi in the second mission.* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Fans reactions to [[spoiler: Johnny]] getting killed, especially considering what he had done in the previous games.** The death itself is not the problem for many fans but that it happened offscreen, to the point where many players did not realise what happened until much later and that they never even seen the corpse.** In Saints Row IV, [[spoiler:it's confirmed that the original Johnny survived the events on the Syndicate plane. He rejoins the Saints after being rescued from the Zin]].* DropTheHammer: The Deckers' specialist weapon, Shock Hammer, is one part this, one part SinisterScythe and two parts ShockAndAwe.* DudeWheresMyRespect: Considering the [[HolyShitQuotient incredibly crazy stunts]] the Boss is able to pull off and their OneManArmy abilities, it's surprising what little respect they gets from their lieutenants. Even [[ButtMonkey Pierce]] doesn't seen to respect them that much.--> '''Boss:''' What? [Killbane] is more afraid of Angel than of me?--> '''Shaundi:''' Yeah, no offense, but you're kind of ridiculous.* DumbassHasAPoint: The first person in the game to point out how stupid it is that the Saints are corporate icons is Josh Birk. While Johnny shares the sentiment, he feels the need to point that out when he, Shaundi and the Boss are sent to prison in the prologue.* EarlyGameHell: A [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hardcore difficulty]] play can definitely be this. Early in the game (i.e. before Act 2), you have no upgrades - enemies take large amounts of ammo to kill unless you're very good with headshots, and you can die in 2 hits from snipers or shotguns. Getting caught in a crossfire generally leads to a swift death, which is a major problem during missions where random reinforcements can arrive based on your wanted level. Even worse are brutes, who can take several magazines of ammo to kill even if every hit is a headshot unless you use explosives, which you can only hold a few of at a time until later on. It is pretty hard to indulge in open-world missions/activities or random chaos without dying quite rapidly until far later on in the game when you have many upgrades.* EasterEgg: Almost literally. If you go a little bit out of your way and check on one of the boats north of the Three Count Casino, you can find [[spoiler: a giant, inflatable Easter '''Bunny''' held on the boat by nets. The bunny first appeared in the second game as an easter egg found in the ocean. It apparently has been captured.]]* EliteMooks: All three Syndicate gangs have their own. Also, any of the three sides may deploy a Brute armed with miniguns or flamethrowers.** Morningstar has Grigor, a bald guy with a {{Sniper Rifle}} in helicopters over the roadblocks Morningstar have set up.** The Luchadores have Almonzo, a big masked guy in armor with multi-shot grenade launchers that do more damage to NPC's and opponents than they do to you.** The Deckers have Kirsten, a British woman on rollerblades that grant her super speed, pausing only to shoot at you or smash you with a shockwave hammer.** The cops have their own EliteMooks: SWAT teams with tactical shields, coming in squads via SWAT vans or helicopters.** The National Guard, backed up by attack helicopters, [=HUMVEEs=], and tanks will come if SWAT still doesn't put you down.** And then, halfway through, STAG replaces the National Guard with their high-tech weaponry, futuristic jet fighters and tanks with laser cannons.* EnemyChatter: It's hard to hear while in the middle of combat, or when you walk past them on the street, but enemies have an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX3TQOFwwR4 astonishing amount of lines]] you might never hear.* EnforcedMethodActing: In-universe example, Director Zhen uses live ammunition and real actors inside the planes instead of drones just to get cinéma vérité. He's not filming people pretending to kill you, he's filming people actually trying to kill you.* EpilepticFlashingLights: The ''Professor Genki'' trailer is ''trying'' to cause the viewer epileptic fits with how many rapidly flashing changing lights it shows.* EscortMission: The Snatch side-missions.* EvenEvilHasStandards: Matt Miller is shocked when Killbane snaps the neck of [[spoiler: Kiki [=DeWynter=]]].* EvilTowerOfOminousness: [[http://saintsrow.wikia.com/wiki/Syndicate_Tower The Syndicate Tower]]. Compared to the Saints' towers, which are more Evil Towers of Partying.* EvilVsEvil: An army of WarIsGlorious BloodKnight {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s who fake terrorist attacks, an international criminal syndicate that owns a city in all but name, and a psychopathic crime lord whose lieutenants include an AxCrazy woman on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge and a sex slaver.* ExactWords: The disclaimer for the first trailer says it contains actual gameplay footage. Of a GroinAttack.** Another trailer features "actual gameplay footage" of a man in a fursuit blowing up a tank with a bazooka.* FailureKnight: Shaundi, turning herself from a stoner into a soldier in response to nearly losing the Protagonist's trust forever in [[VideoGame/SaintsRow2 the previous game]]. After doing that, she has ''another'' Failure Knight moment brought on by [[spoiler:Johnny Gat's presumed death and her (mistaken) belief that she could have saved him]].* FakeStatic: Pierce does this when he and the Boss risk destroying a supercomputer Kinzie wants. Boss does this too if you use Female Voice 1.* FallenStatesOfAmerica: Not explicitly stated, but implied in order for the setting to exist. Mass economic recession and housing crisis affecting the poor while leaving plenty of cheap real-estate for the rich to scoop up? Check. Vast increase in poverty and suicidally-depressed citizens ''demanding'' that you end their pitiful existence? Check. Lack of unified national infrastructure and scattered city-states that are operating largely autonomously from any federal government while being run by criminal warlords with military-grade firepower? Check. Corrupt police force (with a literal bum walking in off the street and assuming the role of Chief) being essentially "just another gang", and unconstitutional use of military force to augment "law-enforcement" on American soil implying a state of emergency? Check. Rogue politicians going outside the usual chain of command and assuming control of entire StateSec paramilitary divisions? Check. Said paramilitary declaring martial law and using Gestapo/terrorist tactics and heavy-handed propaganda to cow the populace? Check. Cops giving up chasing suspects after a while implying lack of investigative training/resources? Check. The citizenry being [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight jaded to daily blodbaths]]? Check. Public kept distracted by the "Breads and Circuses" of various personality cults and bloodsports? Check. It comes off as a mix of post-collapse Soviet "republics", Nazi/Soviet-occupied territory, pre-African-Union Mogadishu, and the wild west.* FalseFlagOperation: There's a {{Frameup}} where the Luchadors blame the Saints for destroying the Hughes Bridge in Stilwater, by simply releasing a doctored video claiming credit. [[spoiler:STAG later tries framing the Saints for blowing up the Magarac Island Statue, for the sole purpose of getting their super gunship in position.]]* FantasticDrug: Catatonex, a relaxation drug made by Wellmake Labs, one of the Saintsbook job contacts. Its apparently pretty strong because the company has to hire the Boss to take human shields and hostages because the citizens of Steelport weren't already stressed enough to begin with!* {{Fartillery}}: The final upgrade for the Flashbang turns it into the "Fart-in-a-Jar". Instead of stunning enemies by blinding them, it instead stuns enemies by [[VomitIndiscretionShot making them puke]].* FateWorseThanDeath: Viola flat out says that Killbane would consider his own [[TheUnmasking unmasking]] this.* FeedItABomb: One of the {{Finishing Move}}s you can use on Brutes.* FelonyMisdemeanor: Police will try to kill you for streaking.* FinalBossNewDimension: The final boss of the [[spoiler: Save Shaundi]] ending takes place on Mars [[spoiler: (except not really, it's actually a film set for an in-universe BMovie called Gangstas In Space).]]* FiveManBand: The Saints.** TheHero: Boss** TheLancer: Pierce** TheSmartGuy: Kinzie** TheBigGuy: Oleg (also GeniusBruiser) and Angel** TheChick: Shaundi** TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler:Viola]]*** EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler: Mayor Burt Reynolds]], assuming you make the right choice** TheMentor: Zimos (also CoolOldGuy)* FlamethrowerBackfire: Flamethrower-armed Brutes can be killed the normal way, but since they wear a welding-visor, they're mostly immune to headshots, making it much harder. On the other hand, if you can put enough bullets into the backback of the flamethrower, it'll jet them into the air and explode.* FlatWhat: Pierce's response to the Boss commenting on the Deckers with either a geeky or [[SophisticatedAsHell verbose]] remark.* ForbiddenChekhovsGun: The ''Daedalus''. Throughout the story, Cyrus Temple presses Monica Hughes to get him authorisation for its use, but even she is against it as she considers it overkill. [[spoiler: [[GodzillaThreshold If the Magarac Island Statue gets blown up]], she will reluctantly get Cyrus authorization to use it.]]* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself: A bank robbery rather than Halloween, but when the Saints rob a bank at the start of the game, the Saints all wear Johnny Gat bobblehead masks, including Johnny himself.-->'''Josh:''' You're robbing a bank dressed as ''yourself''?-->'''Johnny:''' Hell yeah! Who doesn't want to be Johnny Gat?* {{Foreshadowing}}: ** The news ticker in the intro of the Genkibowl DLC hints at several things, ranging from a director shooting Gangstas in Space to Monica Hughes running for president and even [[spoiler:rumors that Johnny is still alive.]]** During the first level, the helicopter pilot tells the Boss that the controls aren't working. The same thing also happens when [[spoiler: Shaundi tries to shoot Killbane]].** [[spoiler:Burt Reynolds]] being the Mayor isn't so surprising if you notice a certain billboard near the airport, or paid attention to some radio ads.** There are various billboards around town saying things like "Honor Zinyak" and "Coming For You". Considering [[AlienInvasion the fourth game]]'s plot if you noticed them and remembered them when the fourth game started, it's quite a surprise in retrospect.** During the bank heist in the prologue, after meeting very strong opposition from guards wearing unusual uniforms[[note]]Morningstar outfits, actually[[/note]], the Boss wonder himself loudly several times "Hey, who does own this bank?", to which Gat always answers "We don't care". Since most of the game's plot is triggered by the Syndicate reacting to the heist of their bank, the Saints should indeed have cared.* ForWantOfANail: If it wasn't for Jyunichi (who was quite a minor character to begin with) killing [[spoiler: Aisha]] in VideoGame/SaintsRow2, [[spoiler: Kia probably wouldn't have joined STAG]], meaning the Serious ending would have never happened.** Considering [[spoiler:Shaundi is alive in ''Saints Row IV'', as well as "Holding Out for a Hero" implying it]], it would seem that the canon ending is [[spoiler:the happy ending]].* FractionalWinningCondition: In the final story mission, [[spoiler:STAG]] stirs up trouble at three locations throughout Steelport. You only need to pacify two of them before proceeding to the next stage of the mission.* FreeFallFight: Just in case you thought the first instance of this wasn't insane enough, the second time around you and your opponents are [[spoiler:in ''tanks'']].--> '''Female Voice 2''': [[spoiler:"UFO watchers would love this."]]** Though they very likely could've gotten this from the game ''VideoGame/{{WET}}'', which also stars Eliza Dushku, who voices Shaundi in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', and came out years before ''Saints Row: The Third''.* FrickinLaserBeams: The ''F-69 V.T.O.L.'' Jet and the ''Specter'' hoverbike both feature laser weapons, and the new Professor Genki activity features lasers as an obstacle. A majority of STAG's arsenal also utilises lasers as ammunition rather than the typical bullets.* FullFrontalAssault: Oleg, when you rescue him. He politely refuses to put clothes on (much to Pierce's discomfort) claiming there is no time for that. Considering he's a musclebound, overweight giant, it could qualify as NakedPeopleAreFunny.** Naturally, this is also an option for The Boss, who may also perform streaking runs when undressed.*** Also features prominently in a mission, where you run around naked [[spoiler: [[ItMakesSenseInContext while doped to the gills with a shotgun raiding a Morningstar prostitution operation.]]]]* FunTShirt: In addition to the usual clothing options, Pierce founds the "Planet Saints" clothing chain just to sell off a warehouse of shirts with the gang's catch phrase "Saints Row, Bitches!".* FunWithAcronyms: S.T.A.G. (Special Tactical Anti-Gang) For clarification, "Stag" was slang for illegally produced pornography in the early 20th century. Zimos even lampshades this.* FutureCopter: Virtually any air vehicle used by STAG, including their AirborneAircraftCarrier, are kept aloft via ducted rotors in internal wells as opposed to the rotary wings conventional helicopters use for [=VTOL=]. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes G to L]]* GagPenis: The ''[[MeaningfulName Penetrator]]'' dildo bat. You can also get this effect if you turn the sex appeal slider all the way up to 100 on the male boss.* {{Gainaxing}}: With 80 or more sex-appeal, it's a miracle (or a technical limit) that the Boss' boobs don't smash her in the face or pop out of her clothing.* GameBreakingBug: ** In any Vehicle Theft mission in which you're supposed to steal one specific vehicle (instead of just any vehicle of a particular type), there is a high probability that the vehicle in question will be declared "destroyed" (even if it isn't even damaged) as soon as you enter the neighborhood where they are kept. This makes these missions borderline {{Unwinnable}}.** Another one is near the end of the "Belgian Problem" mission, if you're playing the PC version and you have just enough specs to squeeze out gaming performance (i.e. it works, but slowly most of the time); when the ball-thing you're hanging on starts falling, there's supposed to be a cutscene of a Brute falling on it after you. The thing is, in slower machines, said cutscene does not play, and you can only see the Brute halfway into your descent, when he's already in your face, ready to punch your lights out. And even then, the game won't let you aim your gun at him until he's ready to attack, meaning you'll die every time. The only way to get past this part is by using the OneHitKill cheat, but since this game uses NoFairCheating, it'll disable not only autosave, but also ''Steam achievements'' for the remainder of the campaign, even if you turn off the cheat afterwards.** Sometimes a Stunt Jump or Barnstorm can fail to be registered by the game.* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: ** The mission [[spoiler:''My Name Is Cyrus Temple'']] is made possible by the MagicPlasticSurgery offered by Image as Designed. [[spoiler: The Boss is surgically altered to exactly resemble KnightTemplar Cyrus Temple, down to the voice. In a particularly well-done element, the Boss's voice selection influences "Commander Temple's" mannerisms when he breaks character, such as asking Kia if she finds Pierce attractive if Female Voice 2 is used. Female Voice 1 will comment how s/he likes men when Kia mentions an off camera sexual fling she and Temple had, and Female Voice 3 will reminisce about Aisha songs from back in the days of the original VideoGame/SaintsRow1]]** A more subtle example would be the collectable items the Boss finds scattered across Steelport: drug packages, sex dolls, money pallets and photo ops. Aside from the last one these items don't seem to make sense even by the loose standards of the game. After all, who would just leave drug stashes and money laying around in random places for bums to pick up? The answer is... nobody. Players who pay close attention during the second mission of the game will notice several of these collectables stored in the cargo hold of the plane Boss and Shaundi jump from. Those things weren't left behind by the people of Steelport, they all just ending up landing in the locations they are found at after slipping out of the plane.* GameplayAndStorySegregation: A few instances. ** Angel never wears his Luchador mask when called for help even after he gets it back. Most notably though, [[spoiler: you get access to all of your unlocked homies after completing the final mission twice to see both endings, which can create the paradox of the monument being destroyed while Shaundi, Viola, and Mayor Reynolds are all still alive.]]** In one of the early missions, you [[spoiler:raid an armory]]. Strangely, despite the fact that you can clearly see all sorts of weapons stashed away in the apartment crib, as well as the fact that you are given access to maxed out weapons and even ''tanks'' during certain missions, you are still required to buy/steal/unlock them yourself outside of the missions.** Similar to the above, you gain access to the RC Possessor weapon much earlier than it is actually used in the story. As such, no matter how often you have used it, the Boss will still act like s/he's unfamiliar with it when it becomes relevant to the plot.** There are a handful of missions that involve [[spoiler:the Saint's HQ being blown-up or otherwise being severely damaged]]. After you clear the mission, sometimes you'll immediately appear in the Saints HQ, as if nothing happened.** Unlike in previous games, City Takeover is now linked to completing minigames and buying properties, rather than doing missions. As a result, the amount of control the Saints actually exercise over Steelport is completely divorced from the story. So you can do the entire storyline and supposedly crush the Syndicate and conquer Steelport without controlling even a single neighborhood. Or, conversely, you can do 100% of City Takeover gameplay as early as the beginning of Act II, then sit through another three-quarters of a story predicated on the Saints being plucky underdogs against the monolithic Syndicate. This can lead to some awkward dialogue depending on which mission you're playing, like "Stop All the Downloading", in which Kinzie rags at you for ''supposedly'' shooting nonstop at oncoming Deckers while she's hacking power outlets... when there's not a single mook coming because you've already annihilated the Deckers beforehand:--->'''Kinzie:''' ''(amidst the most absolute silence, when there should be a firefight escalating)'' You mind keeping it down there?** The Boss will claim to not know who the Luchadores are when they attack [[spoiler:Johnny's]] funeral, regardless of how many of them you've killed before that.** Likewise, the Saints will always be astonished upon meeting a Brute for the first time in a story mission, even though you can easily encounter and kill them beforehand while doing side activities or just getting any gang after you at a high level.* GeniusBruiser: ** Oleg Kirrlov. Eight feet tall, built like a sumo wrestler, and plays chess when he's not out kicking ass. He's also shown to perfectly understand Kinzie's TechnoBabble.** To a much lesser extent (largely by comparison), Killbane. Far less intelligent than Oleg, but still clever at times ; keeping a high PR with his casino, his interviews and radio shows and [[spoiler: trying to frame the Saints for the destruction of the Hughes bridge.]] He also appears to be well read, given how he occasionally accurately references relatively obscure bits of Greek and Roman mythology.* GiantMook: The gangs in Steelport now have access to Brutes, eight-foot towers of walking muscle that can effortlessly upend cars and take a ton of lead to bring down, some of who are armored and given [[GatlingGood miniguns]] or [[KillItWithFire flamethrowers]]. If you see one in the back of a truck, ''blow up the truck''.* {{GIFT}}: Discussed in "http://deckers.die" during Matt Miller's AGodAmI moment; the Boss quickly replies that he's nothing but "a bitch with a keyboard" IRL.* GladiatorGames: [[SugarApocalypse Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax]]. [[HypocriticalHumor Just don't shoot the pandas]], [[CrossesTheLineTwice it's not ethical]].* AGodAmI: Matt Miller considers himself a 'cyber god' due to his skills as a hacker. Inside the Decker Use-Net however he pretty much ''is'' god.-->'''Matt''': Don't you get it? I'm God here.* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: [[BigBad Philippe Loren]] is depicted smoking in official artwork, in one of the trailers, and at least one point in the game. One of your allies, Zimos, also smokes but it had damaged his voice. Boss can't smoke in the third game, and Shaundi has given up the habit.* GRatedDrug: The trafficking missions involve the Saints selling their merchandise in a typical drug dealer fashion, however, it turns to be nothing but promotional T-Shirts and Saints action figures. Deliberately left vague as to whether they actually contain some illicit substance... or people are just that addicted to Saints' brand merchandise.** Technically, it's stated outright the point of the merchandise [[SlaveToPR is to spread the word of the Saints in Steelport]], and rub it in the face of the Syndicate. Also double-subverted with the Zimos version of the mission. It's not drugs - it's [[AllMenArePerverts porn]] [[AllWomenAreLustful catalogues]].* GratuitousJapanese: Pierce's Japanese commercial, the bonuses in Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax, and the Mollusk Launcher.* GrenadeSpam: The Luchadores have EliteMooks that use grenade launchers. The amount they shoot out at one time is about half as many as ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' uses in a minute (a lot).** However, it should be noted that the mini-grenades do relatively small damage for explosives, even on the hardest difficulity, and are actually much more damaging against opponents than they are against you. It'll take a whole of them, placed right at your feet, to kill you.* GroinAttack: ** The "melee bash" button almost exclusively involves the Boss destroying someone's nards, and each weapon has its own animation for them and to top it all off there's also an [[BraggingRightsReward Achievement/Trophy]] called [[Film/{{Idiocracy}} "Oww, my balls"]]. It effectively stuns all but the toughest characters.** Also notable with the rarely-appearing Professor Genki - if he isn't using a weapon when he shows up, he is going to be punching everybody in the balls.* GuideDangIt: ** One of the Assassination missions requires you to drive up on a specific location in "a muscle car," but doesn't tell you which models are considered "muscle cars." (If you're wondering: [[spoiler:Bootleggers, Hammers, Hammerheads, and Phoenixes count]].)** The Collectible Finder ability doesn't reveal the locations of Barnstorms or Stunt Jumps. Fortunately, these don't count towards Challenges or Achievements/Trophies and only give Respect and cash, which can be earned elsewhere.** Among many other activities, gaining full control of the city requires to clear Gang Operations[[note]]static groups of Syndicate mooks. Once vanquished, each Gang Operation gives control on a small territory of the district[[/note]]. While Downtown has easier activities and cheaper properties than the other parts of the town, it also has the most difficult Gang Operation of the game. Said Gang Operation isn't harder to clear than the other ones, but is very tricky to ''find''. It is the only Gang Operation not located on the ground, thus needing an helicopter to be reached, but that's not the hardest part. Did you looked for it by scouting the only Downtown area you don't control yet? That's useless, because... ''the Gang Operation is actually located outside of the territory you gain after clearing it''.* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: Inverted. The Morning Star and Luchador specialists (men) attack with sniper rifles and grenade launchers while the Decker specialists (women) attack with giant shock hammers. (Granted, the Decker specialists also carry [=SMGs=] for ranged attacks if needed, but their primary weapon is the hammer.)* {{Hammerspace}}: The Boss's arsenal while drugged and naked.** And even when he/she isn't. Can ''you'' carry two handguns, two [=SMG=]s, a shotgun, an assault rifle, a small briefcase, an assortment of grenades, and an RPG launcher in your jacket pocket?* HandCannon: A fully-upgraded .45 Shepherd is larger than the Boss's forearm and fires bullets that [[AbnormalAmmo explode]] with enough force to [[BlownAcrossTheRoom toss victims around like rag dolls]]. The game's other pistol, the KA-1 Kobra, is far less flashy, but fully upgraded can negate armor and riot shields, and can even take down a helicopter in about one clip.* HaveIMentionedIAmGay: The Female 1 Voice, when disguised as Cyrus Temple, will mention she (disguised as Temple) likes men after Kia alludes to one night they spent together that she's not ashamed of.* HeelFaceTurn: Fittingly, Angel, Killbane's former wrestling partner. After being unmasked in the ring, Angel severed all ties with Killbane. He now plays a role helping the Boss get used to Steelport (and he's obsessed with revenge on Killbane).* HideYourChildren: Children in the game are mentioned in dialogue, but never seen.* HighHeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Viola also turns to the Saints after Killbane [[NeckSnap kills]] her sister Kiki.]]* HeroAntagonist: Cyrus Temple, and his second-in-command Kia, as well as their STAG organization, were this at the start of the game: they're trying to stop a deranged, psychopathic mass-murderer, who just happens to be the PlayerCharacter. But as the game progresses, they start to lose out the "hero" part as their methods [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope grow progressively more]] [[KnightTemplar and more extreme]], culminating in Cyrus declaring martial law in Steelport.* HeWhoFightsMonsters: By the end of the game, STAG [[spoiler: has declared martial law, carried out abduction and detention without trial of Shaundi, and Kia attempts to [[FalseFlagOperation frame the Saints for terrorism]] by blowing up a landmark and leaving kidnapped members of the Saints to die in the blast]]. Lampshaded by Monica Hughes if you [[spoiler: stop the bombing, when she calls off STAG.]]--> "You declared martial law and destroyed half of the city; the Saints [[spoiler:just saved a treasured monument]]. Who the ''[[PrecisionFStrike fuck]]'' do you think the public will side with?* HighSpeedHijack: You get bonus points for this.* HoistByHisOwnPetard: One of your contacts for Assassinations is a Morning Star going by the name "Rasputin", who sets you up for a (incredibly obvious) trap after taking out another rogue Morning Star by [[NotMyDriver impersonating his personal chauffeur]]. After escaping said trap, an anonymous contact puts a hit on Rasputin (whose real name is Barry, he feels the need to point out). How do you lure him out and kill him? By impersonating his personal helicopter pilot.* HollywoodHacking: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jdpnDbBAX8&feature=feedu And How!]]* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Oleg is a Russian genetic experiment who is bigger than most doorways, can bodycheck a truck, and, if Zimos can be trusted, [[GagPenis has nothing to be ashamed of down there]]. Kinzie is a really inexperienced shut-in nerd who is noticeably shorter than the Boss and is explicitly stated to be a virgin. Oleg says he wanted to confess his love for her before they die. [[spoiler: But considering Kinzie is very much anti-social, it likely wouldn't have worked out well for Oleg...]]** [[spoiler:Or maybe it could, considering Kinzie ''can'' talk properly to someone who is at her level of intellect.]]* HunterOfHisOwnKind: ** [[ShowWithinAShow Nyte Blayde again.]]** Oleg repeatedly mentions his hatred of the Brutes based on him and will prioritize them in a fight (which is handy, considering he is the only one who can go toe to toe with them).* IdenticalTwinIDTag: The [=DeWynter=] Sisters can be told apart from the colors of their sunglasses: Kiki wears pink glasses and Viola wears white glasses.* IFellForHours: Twice. Once inside a ''tank''. And the Boss doesn't forget to complain about this.** The "Sad Panda Skyblazing" activity from Genkibowl VII is made of this. They put the Boss in a special suit that essentially allows him/her to fall at an almost horizontal angle. Even if you deliberately miss all of the balloons, it can still take close to two minutes to hit the ground.* IgnoredVitalNewsReports: Both the Saints and the Syndicate fail to pay attention to the various news reports about the STAG Initiative until STAG starts kicking down their doors.* ILoveNuclearPower: In ''The Trouble With Clones'', the Boss temporarily gains superpowers after drinking irradiated Saints Flow.* InteractiveFiction: Part of ''[=http://deckers.die=]'' is a text adventure.---> '''Female Voice 3''': "Why, why Mr. Unicorn?!?"* InterfaceScrew: During the mission "Pimps Up, Hos Down," the Boss has to take a gang stronghold while high on a drug that makes the screen go all wibbly-wobbly.** At some points during the mission "[=http://deckers.die=]", your controls are inverted for a few seconds. Other effects include fake lag, which behaves as if you never walked or made an attack on an enemy. * InvincibleHero: Once you get to around level 50, you can buy immunity to bullets, explosions, fire, and vehicles... which is almost everything the game can throw at you. You can still be hurt by Brutes and other melee attackers, though. Also, being in a vehicle when it explodes will still kill you, regardless of explosion immunity.* InvisibleAnatomy: When playing as a toilet. Wielding the Apoco fists gives you FloatingLimbs.* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: Jane Valderama mispronounces everyone's name. In the case of Angel's, she pronounces "Angel" like it's in Spanish (like the rest of his name), but every other character uses the English pronunciation.* ItsAllMyFault: Played straight with Shaundi regarding [[spoiler:Johnny Gat's apparent death]]. Shaundi lapses into various shades of It's All My Fault on several occasions, while nearly every character she says it to comes back with YouDidEverythingYouCould.* ItsPersonal: Discussed by Cyrus Temple at the end of "Gang Bang" when he mentions Jessica's death in the previous game and asks the gathered reporters if she were their daughter, how far would they want STAG to go in fighting the gang menace?* ItsUpToYou: During the mission "Three Way", the player must choose between [[spoiler: saving Shaundi and killing Killbane]]. Apparently, none of the other Saints are competent enough to do one of those while you accomplish the other.* IWasJustJoking: Near the start of "We're Going to Need Guns", Shaundi sarcastically suggests raiding a military armory to get weapons for the Saints. The Boss proceeds to take her at her word.* JigglePhysics: Applied in full force to The Female Boss if you turned her "Sex Appeal" slider all the way up. Also with Shaundi as well.** Averted when wearing the Steelport Guard Uniform, no matter how much "Sex Appeal" your Female Boss has. As it is essentially military camo and full body-armour with a ballistic vest, it's a logical exception.** And the Penetrator melee weapon, a three foot long purple jelly dildo, complete with balls.* TheJuggernaut: Oleg, a new Saints lieutenant, is capable of body checking ''cars'' and can throw mooks about like ping pong balls.** Then there are his clones, which show up packing miniguns and flamethrowers. It's a good thing this game lets you upgrade your maximum ammo, because you are going to ''need it'' for these guys. They routinely toss smaller cars out of the way, and you can't run over them with a tank. They just shove it aside.* KamehameHadoken: Pierce throws a fireball in a Japanese advert for the Saints Flow energy drink. The Boss can mimic throwing a fireball as a taunt, but can't actually throw fireballs... [[spoiler:that is, until the final mission for ''The Trouble With Clones''.]]* KnightTemplar: STAG is determined to remove all the gangs from Steelport at any cost, up to and including [[spoiler:''[[KillEmAll removing Steelport itself]]'']].* LampshadeHanging: In "The Belgian Problem," the Boss sets the timer on the bomb to blow up [[spoiler:the Syndicate Tower]], ''then'' heads upstairs to kill everyone inside and escape again before it runs out. This was a common tactic in ''Saints Row 2'', when it was never remarked upon. This time, however, Shaundi asks why he/she didn't wait to set the timer until ''after'' they were ready to leave. Pierce's response? "That's...a really good question. We should hurry."* LaserGuidedKarma: In "Live! With Killbane", Killbane scoffs at the idea of Angel having a rematch with him without a mask, saying that he's less than dirt. [[spoiler:You later get the chance to unmask Killbane.]]* LaserHallway: One of many a DeathTrap in Professor Genki's game show.* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: If left idle, the protagonist may randomly remark that sometimes he/she feels as if someone is controlling him/her.* LethalJokeItem: About half the weapons that can be unlocked. This includes things like a giant 8 bit tank that shoots ammo that looks like giant marshmallows, a luchador mask that can set people on fire by just taunting them, and the well known jiggly dildo bat. There's also the Apoco-Fists, giant foam fists capable of punching a tank halfway across the city.* LodgedBladeRecycling: Early on, Gat gets stabbed by Loren during a tussle, but being a MadeOfIron badass, he just pulls the knife out and throws it at a guard with a machine gun so the others can escape.* LoveableRogue: What the 3rd Street Saints are seen as by certain members of the public.* ILoveNuclearPower: [[spoiler:In the final mission of The Trouble With Clones DLC, The Boss gets temporary superpowers from an irradiated can of Saints Flow.]]* LuckBasedMission: A couple of the Assassination missions can only be triggered if you attack one or more prostitutes in a specific neighborhood, which means the game actually has to spawn prostitutes in those neighborhoods. (One of the two missions doubles the chanciness of the proposition by requiring you to go after a specific ''type'' of prostitute; just any won't do.)** Assassination missions that require you to get a high notoriety with the Morningstar can be difficult once you take over the city because few Morningstar actually spawn. This is noteworthy because one Assassination mission requires both this and the above prostitute attacking, which means if you accidentally take over the district before starting this mission it goes from luck-based to nearly UnwinnableByMistake.** Any side activity that [[EscortMission relies on NPC behavior]]. Insurance Fraud can be greatly complicated if the cops decide to start shooting at you since they scare the traffic and cause pile-ups that make it hard to score points. You also can't fight back during this activity. Snatch and Trafficking are also problems as success relies on how quickly the [=NPCs=] decide to get in the car, which can be anywhere from almost immediately to almost a minute, with Trafficking having the extra problem of the NPC sometimes parking the car in a place where you can't easily get back in it. And finally, Guardian Angel can fail easily if the car you're protecting and the cars chasing it never get any distance from each other, since shooting the enemy car next to your ally will often destroy them both.* LudicrousGibs: Anybody hit by the Apoco-Fists (a giant pair of fists unlocked [[spoiler: by choosing not to unmask Killbane in the mission "Murderbrawl XXXI"]]) or hit with a fully charged shot from the Sonic Boom immediately explodes into a pile of these. You can even gib people ''inside cars'' with it.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes M to R]]* MadeOfExplodium: The cars [[EveryCarIsAPinto explode when shot enough]], just like in any GTA clone, but special mention goes to the pony carts.* MadeOfIron: Getting immunity towards bullets, fire, explosions, fall damage, and cars will make you nearly impossible to kill. Only physical attacks from brutes will hurt you and being inside a car when it explodes will still kill you.* MagicPlasticSurgery: Image as Designed. The surgeons are capable of changing any aspect of the Boss's physical body, down to skin color (including bizarre shades like green and fire engine red) or gender. This is even used as a plot point in the mission [[spoiler:''My Name Is Cyrus Temple.'']]* {{Mascot}}: There's an inordinate quantity of people in oversized animal, beverage and hot dog costumes running about the town, and nobody is sure why or what are they doing. Apparently the local population is [[NightmareFuel mentally scarred by them]] to such an extent that many people explicitly tell you to exterminate them before they take over the town.--> "Mascots! They're gathering at the costume shop! It's... it's how they make more of their kind!"** Professor Genki serves as the game's unofficial mascot.* MaskedLuchador: Killbane and the Luchadores as a whole.* TheMeanBrit: Matt Miller, and the Boss if you choose the Cockney voice option.--->'''Boss''' (after [[spoiler: the gang drops the giant sphere to go after Loren's elevator]] : Ever heard of [[UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar Agincourt]], you prick?* MeaningfulName: The Thermopylae, [=STAG=]'s aircraft carrier base. Thermopylae is famously the location of the 300 Spartans' battle against the Persian empire. A small army that faced down the considerably larger empire and ultimately lost. The Daedalus probably also counts somehow. Daedalus was the father of Icarus who, famously flew too close to the sun and fell to his death.* MeleeATrois: While standard for the series as a whole (Saints vs. rival gangs vs. police), ''The Third'' takes it UpToEleven with the penultimate mission, "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Three Way]]", where [[spoiler: Steelport has turned into a warzone as the Luchadores and STAG fight it out, and the Saints attempt to clean up the mess by killing off both sides]]. On top of this, you also have double maxed notoriety to deal with, and at the end, a SadisticChoice...* TheMentallyDisturbed: Tom, the other DJ from the Adult Swin radio station, is apparently quite off his gourd. To boot:** He apparently doesn't know what a boner is.** He disguises himself as a waiter and plays one just because Jon (the main DJ) asked him if they could go out for a bite; Tom took it as Jon calling him a waiter. He only snaps out of it because Jon plays the act and indirectly calls him a smartass.---> '''Jon:''' And I'm taking the check right now, I'm in a hurry. I gotta go meet my friend Tom at the Smartass Convention. No, I don't have another friend named Tom, ''I'm talking about you!''** He enters an ''[[VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}} Indigo Prophecy]]''-esque trance-like state (complete with chest scarifications and incantations) ''live on air'' because Jon misunderstood something about how dedicated phone lines work.--->'''Jon:''' OK, now he's pulling out a knife, and it looks like the knife from the movie ''Film/{{Cobra}}''. Okay, he's waving it at me, and slicing it across the tech booth glass... whoa, now he's pulling up his shirt... He is ''ripped''!!! Jesus, Tom! Oh my God, he's... he's carving runic symbols into his chest and he's muttering his crazy, this pre-human way- OH MY GOD, he just hurled himself against the glass! He shattered like a ceramic vase, this is nuts! Holy SHIT!!! Alright, folks, it is official: things are getting '''weird''' here.%%* MinimalisticCoverArt* MoneyForNothing: The developers went out of their way to avert this; you ''always'' have something to spend money on, and never enough at one time. Every single new ability you get must be paid for, often with ludicrous amounts of money; ditto with the guns and their upgrades.** Though once you do have all these upgrades there's little else to spend money on. What's left (cars, ammo, and clothes) requires a fraction of your hourly income, to say nothing of how much money you likely have on you.** The amount of money [[MetalSlime Professor Genki]] drops on death varies, but it usually shakes out to around $300,000, which is more than enough money to buy every store in Steelport and most of the properties besides. With that kind of cash flow, you'll never be hurting for money again.** The [[DownloadableContent Bloodsucker Pack]] adds not one but three separate money-oriented bonuses that are applied from the start of the game, in addition to [[DiscOneNuke giving you every cash, income, and respect bonus the base game has without having to purchase it]]. How much cash? You may run into the game's early-level hourly income limit several times.* MortonsFork: Inverted at the end of several missions where you get a choice of rewards, which while sucking for ''someone'' are great for you either way. For example in one mission, your goal is to save a group of women from a traficking ring that forces them into prostitution. You are then presented with two options: sell them right back to the trafickers, or get them to work for you. Either option results in the women continuing prostitution and you making a lot of money off of them.* MostDefinitelyNotAVillain: When infiltrating the STAG recruitment center to kidnap Josh Birk, if you're using Male voice 2 the Boss will inform the guy at the desk that he's "an actor with no ulterior motives".* MulticoloredHair: The Decker specialist Kirsten, as well as yourself, if you so desire.* MultipleEndings: Certain missions can have different outcomes. For example, one mission's outcome determines the fate of the largest building in Steelport. The Boss can either A: blow up the building, giving them a truckload of respect at the expense of the building staying like that for the rest of the game and pedestrians' comments on the Saints changing, (and an ongoing respect bonus as well), or B: spare it and use it as a safehouse for the Saints, which gives you an additional 10% on any cash you earn.** The end presents players with with a choice: [[spoiler: sacrifice Shaundi to go after Killbane, or rescue her and allow Killbane to escape. The former allows you to confront both Killbane and Cyrus (and by extension, STAG) and TakeOverTheCity. The latter? You save Shaundi and in doing so prevent a plot to portray the Saints as terrorists. Monica Hughes calls off STAG and the Saints are seen as heroes because of the extreme lengths that were used against them.]] [[VideoGame/RedFaction Then they make a movie set on Mars.]]** One mission choice that may as well represent the essence of Saints Row: will you [[spoiler: keep samples of a zombie virus, allowing you to summon a horde of zombies to unleash on your foes? Or destroy the virus and [[ItMakesSenseInContext earn the active help of Mayor Burt Reynolds]].]]** The mission The Ho Boat has two endings. Either sell the girls back to the Syndicate for a large lump sum or let Zimos keep them for a permanent $1000 boost in hourly payout.* MundaneMadeAwesome: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7YI2NXTiyc One trailer]] promises the game to be huge with the release of never before seen footage...of someone being punched [[GroinAttack in the nuts]] to truly '''epic''' music. VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto raises the bar, Saints Row [[StealthPun holds it to its crotch and pretends it's a cock.]]* MuseAbuse: Zhen in the Gangstas in Space DLC, enough to [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgust even the boss]].* MushroomSamba: One mission has Boss infiltrating a BDSM club as a sex slave. It begins when s\he is dumped into a room after a combination of drugs and who knows what done to him\her. Boss stumbles about, falls over, throws up and cannot aim well throughout the mission.* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: ** Killbane, the Walking Apocalypse.** When a character is named "The Angel of Death" you should probably be glad he's on your side.** According to the commentators in the Prof. Genki activities, mentioning Johnny Gat by name is a good way to make the mascots and hunters [[OhCrap break down in tears]].** Turns out that the Boss has a media nickname/wrestling identity: the Butcher of Stilwater.* NeckSnap: How Killbane kills [[spoiler: Kiki [=DeWynter=]. In one ending, you get to return the favour, but unlike Killbane killing Kiki it actually takes some effort for the boss to break Killbane's neck, even if the protagonist is powerfully built.]]** It's also how you kill [[HumanShield hostages]] you take when you hit the melee key.* {{Nerf}}:** The Boss has been considerably nerfed compared to the previous game, so that you have to buy back the abilities, damage output, and toughness you previously took for granted in the new character improvement system. Wading into battle GunsAkimbo, for example, was something that the Boss could previously do automatically, but now requires Respect Level 26 to do with submachine guns. The ability to restore health with power-ups has likewise been eliminated (and replaced with nothing), so you might actually need to buy the extra health and faster regeneration rates in order to stay alive. *** And even after doing so, will STILL die a lot easier than in VideoGame/SaintsRow2 due to helicopter riding snipers, brutes, and onslaughts of gunfire from one or two dozen enemy gangsters without any place to really hide or take cover behind, besides the occasional wall or so. (Although every potential threat in the game, including cops and Homies, can take cover, however. You just can't.)** Some of the weapons that return from the previous game have been nerfed, particularly the stun gun (which no longer kills people, making it useless in a serious fight) and the Kobra pistol (which went from the best pistol in the game to the weakest, but was upped in its firing rate and magazine capacity to compensate). As well as the Rocket Launcher, which when fully upgraded, often times has a very difficult time finding its targets and leaving you vulnerable until it can actually hit something, since you're only allowed to shoot off one rocket at a time. In VideoGame/SaintsRow2, it never had this problem and worked far better.* NeverMessWithGranny: Applies to the Boss if you make her old. As a matter of fact, you can even give put curlers in her hair and put her in a bath robe and bunny slippers.** All {{NPC}}s, including the elderly ones, have a chance of being armed, as well as a separate chance of taking issue with the Saints doing, well, anything. There is a small but real possibility some geriatric pensioner will rip you out of your car while stopped and lay into you with a stun gun.** The first bank teller who pulls a gun on you in the first mission is also an old lady.* NeverTrustATrailer: The "Power" trailer showed off Loren with a lot of build up to him being the big bad of the game. [[spoiler: He dies no later than the end of Act 1]].** Johnny Gat was also depicted in the trailer fighting alongside the player, even taking a bullet and just getting back up to fight. [[spoiler: He gets killed off-screen during the second mission]].** In the same trailer, the Morningstar are shown crashing the Saints' party. In the actual game, [[spoiler:it's the Saints who crash a Morningstar party. The Saints do get their own party at the same location crashed later, but the Morningstar aren't directly involved with it.]]** The trailer also implies the Saints might form an EnemyMine with Loren against STAG. Again, in-game [[spoiler:Loren is long dead by the time STAG shows up in Steelport. Only Viola defects from the Syndicate to the Saints, and even then it's to get back at Killbane killing her sister rather than because of STAG's arrival]].** The trailer for the Penthouse Pets gang members DLC suggest they are player-controlled characters (one is even seen executing a takedown move available to the player), but at least in the main game, they are simply background characters providing support during battles if required.* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:By blowing up the cockpit of a STAG aircraft and sending it and all of its cargo crashing down, the Boss ends up unleashing a ZombieApocalypse onto a section of the city.]] Oops.* NightOfTheLivingMooks: The Boss can summon zombie homies if s/he chooses to keep the zombie virus.* NintendoHard: Largely avoided. When it does happen it's confined to optional diversions, and only under specific circumstances:** One of the optional diversions, "Mayhem", requires the player to cause a certain amount of damage in a limited length of time. One of these side missions, rated as "Hard" difficulty, is located on Arapice Island. Up to a certain point in the game, it's tough but not unbeatable. After the [[spoiler: zombies take over the island]], if the side mission is attempted then it becomes Nintendo Hard because there are virtually no vehicles (which generally are needed to rack up the points) and [[spoiler: zombies continually attack the player, often triggering an action that delays the player for several vital seconds at a time]].*** However, [[spoiler: the hordes of zombies]] do count towards points and your combo multiplier, as do the added destructible elements like chain link fences that show up with them. While high-value targets are less common, it's far easier to rack up a high combo multiplier, especially when you get swarmed.** Another optional diversion, "Insurance Fraud", requires you to ragdoll against moving cars to rack up points, with additional points granted from bouncing against multiple cars in succession. As you do this you gain "adrenaline", which when maxed allows you to better control yourself mid-air. Usually adrenaline levels do not reduce while you are mid-air, but in co-op adrenaline levels continue dropping unless both players are in the air at the same time. Combined with the nearly doubled point level required to complete the diversion, this can make even Easy level Insurance Fraud very hard to complete.* NoCanonForTheWicked: [[spoiler:''Saints Row IV'' operates from the ending that saw the Boss choosing loyalty over revenge and saved Shaundi rather than stopping Killbane's escape.]]* NoodleIncident: This line Pierce gives us when the Saints first meet Oleg.-->'''Pierce:''' The last time a big naked dude said he could help me, it did not end well.** In "My Name Is Cyrus Temple", part of the dialogue awkwardly leads to Kia uncomfortably mentioning the "experimenting" they did that one time while they were both off duty.* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent[=/=]OohMeAccentsSlipping: The Cockney male voice:** [[FelonyMisdemeanor He calls "chips" "fries".]]** In "The Ho Boat" mission he tells the rescued hos to "follow the guy with the Z on his back", he pronounces it as "Zee" when he should have pronounced it as "Zed". ** The second one also comes up PlayedForLaughs when the player is trying to rescue Shaundi from STAG by [[FalseFlagOperation pretending to be Cyrus Temple]] - if you've taken the Cockney male voice, he'll use the word "bloke", hastily cover it up by saying he picked it up when he was stationed in Britain, then cover ''that'' up by saying he's "probably said too much" when Kia mentions there's no record of Cyrus having ever been stationed there.** This actually applies to all the voices for the Cyrus Temple Impersonation, each with their own bits of dialog according to the Boss' chosen voice at the time. Example: The Female Russian voice will refer to Pierce, Viola, and Shaundi as "Comrades."** Angel De La Muerte, despite being Hispanic, pronounces his name the Anglophone way like everyone else. The only person who pronounces his name the Hispanic way is news reporter Jane Valderama--who habitually mis-pronounces everyone ''else's'' names. {{Irony}} sets in when you realize Angel's voice, Wrestling/HulkHogan himself, is also Hispanic.* NotSoDifferent: ** The boss says this to Kia when when the Boss hears Kia is an Aisha fan and that the reason she joined S.T.A.G. was to take down crooks like the ones that killed Aisha.** Kia also shows to be just as ruthless as the Saints by [[spoiler: staging a terrorist attack.]] In the serious ending [[spoiler: Temple and STAG prove to be even worse by trying to destroy the city, not even realizing that it was Kia who staged the attack and framed the Saints.]]** The Boss him/herself if s/he decides to, instead of destroying everything in sight, take over and/or buy out every major building or area in Steelport, ''just like the Syndicate''.** If the player opts to stop Killbane's escape, he invokes this with the Boss, and even gives an IronicEcho of Gat's statements early in the game about the Saints losing touch with their roots.*** According to developers, Killbane and the Boss were intended as dark mirrors of each other.* NoticeThis: Collectibles have icons hovering over them.* OffModel: Promotional artwork of Johnny Gat. No widow's peak, no cleft chin, and even the shades are wrong.* OrcusOnHisThrone: Aside from Killbane blowing up [[spoiler:the Hughes Memorial Bridge]] and framing the Saints for it in Act II, the Syndicate seems perfectly content to play a purely defensive, reactive role in the fight with the Saints. They'll defend their operations and their territory, but they never try to take any of it back or strike at the Saints directly (they leave that to STAG).* OrganTheft: One of the properties the Boss can buy near the harbor area is an organ blackmarket. Fully taking over the operation only sets them back a couple thousand dollars...* PairTheSmartOnes: The game went this route for [[HugeGuyTinyGirl Oleg and Kinzie]], much to the Boss and Pierce's [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight shock]].-->'''Oleg''': No, he's right. Were Kinzie here, I would pour out my heart.\\'''Pierce''': WHAT?!\\'''Oleg''': It is rare that I find an intellectual equal.* PaletteSwap: The gang styles that you unlock by completing missions and activities are just the originals painted with Saints gang colors and programmed to fight on your side. This becomes especially obvious with the styles that mimic your various rival gangs, because their war cries will still contain disparaging references to the Saints.* PandaingToTheAudience: This game really has a thing about pandas.** In Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax. Shooting mascots is the whole point of the game, and shooting tiger targets gets you extra points. But don't shoot the panda targets. [[SelectiveCondemnation It's unethical!]]** In an in-game radio ad, Mayor Reynolds says Steelport is "the number one exporter of panda meat in the continental U.S." This would be a subversion... unless you happen to like panda meat. Apparently, the Boss might...--->'''Female Voice 2''': Hot dogs are so last century. Panda dogs are the future.\\'''Female Voice 3''': Turns out panda meat makes a damn good pizza.* PermanentlyMissableContent:** The ability to replay any missions like in ''Saints Row 1'' and ''2'' is absent due to the way the missions expect certain world map states, which you alter through the course of the game; the closest you get in the unmodified game is that the game allows you to replay the penultimate mission, "Three Way", one time to get the [[MultipleEnding other ending]], then it's gone. Although if you're on the PC, this [[http://www.saintsrowmods.com/forum/index.php?threads/mission-replay-v8.158/ has]] [[GameMod been modded back in]].** It is possible to completely wipe the three enemy gangs off the map once you take control of their neighborhoods. If you also completed the auxillary survival, assassination and car theft missions and reached HundredPercentCompletion, the only way for you to see gang members again is to answer a phone call to a survival mission (which will cycle randomly after you've completed them all) or redo an activity. This can be extremely frustrating, as several of the Saintsbook items explicitly require gangs. Makes it even worse for one in particular, requiring you have neutral gang members to taunt.** STAG is gone from the city after the final mission. Those who enjoyed taking on someone more competent than your average policemen (and the Steelport National Guard with regular tanks, helicopters, and weaponry, which shows up at high wanted ratings) should take notice.** Killbane's mask cannot be obtained via cheats, as opposed to the Apoco-Fists. Thus, if you opt to spare Killbane's mask, you'll never be able to get it for yourself (unless you have the Unlockable DLC pack).** Averted regarding vehicles; all gang and STAG vehicles are permanently added to your garage once you complete the main plot.* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:When Matt Miller says he's leaving the Syndicate to pursue new opportunities (in reality, it's because the Saints beat him), Killbane]] says he's going to miss the kid, and says he can use him as a job reference. In general, he treats him like a little brother. Given that he's killed or alienated just about everyone else [[spoiler:high-up in the Syndicate]], and is maybe one step back from psychopathy most of the time, it provides a sharp contrast. It's also especially striking since many real-life gangs [[ResignationsNotAccepted don't take very kindly to members leaving]], especially not someone that high up in the ranks. Matt is especially surprised by this turn of events, as he clearly but nervously states that he's afraid of being killed, expecting that he was going to be killed in the next moment anyway.* PimpDuds: Worn by Zimos.* PlayfulHacker: Kinzie.-->'''Kinzie Kensington''': ''(cheerfully)'' I think if I could worm into their mainframe, I'd do all sorts of naughty things.** Among the things she will do to the Luchadores on one mission is make sure that next time they get their cars repainted, they end up bright pink.* PoliceBrutality: Unlike their Stilwater counterparts, Steelport cops don't even ''carry'' nonlethal weapons like nightsticks and stun guns. If you so much as dent a patrol car's fender, the driver will pull out a shotgun and try to kill you where you stand. This behavior isn't just limited to the player, either: {{NPC}}s who make the mistake of grazing a police vehicle will be stopped, pulled from their vehicle, thrown to the ground and shot until dead. Police who weren't involved in the original collision will even join in.** Although they do sometimes drop flashbangs if you kill them, like The Syndicate do with other thrown weapons.* PopTheTires: ** You have to shoot out the wheels on a semi-trailer truck to stop it during one mission. Also, it's possible to shoot out the wheels of any car in the game, which greatly lowers its handling but still leaves it able to be driven.** One of the vehicle upgrades allows you to put spikes on your wheels, which allow you to pop the tires of cars just by ''bumping into them.'' This often results in the car in question continuing to drive (or, at least, attempting to), causing them to spin out of control and kill civilians, cause traffic accidents, and property damage.* PracticalTaunt: Taunting gang members earns you a bit of respect, and one challenge requires you to taunt 50 of them. One assassination mission has you taunt people to draw out the target. And then there's [[spoiler:Killbane's mask]]; wear it to make your taunts ''set people on fire.''* PressXToNotDie: There are quick time events to avoid being smacked by a Brute, to clear away a horde of zombies that overwhelm you, and to deliver beat-downs. Furthermore, all but two of the {{Boss Fight}}s incorporate quick time events (and those two bosses are in mutually exclusive endings).* PunBasedTitle: The mission "Trojan Whores", where the Syndicate uses whores as a trojan horse to try to get close to the Saints and assassinate them.* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: General Killbane uses exactly these words when referring to hero and his/her team before the final confrontation in 'Gangstas in Space' ending mission.* ReallyGetsAround: Shaundi's promiscuity is ''still'' joked about, though far less than last time.* RealMenWearPink: One of the promotional screenshots of Killbane has him wearing a large pink feather boa.** Pink seems to be the unifying color for the Syndicate as a whole, as every member of all three Syndicate gangs has some pink in their outfit, including their leaders. * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The person you choose to confront in the penultimate mission gives you one. Considering the SadisticChoice involved, they're both [[VillainsNeverLie right]]. Interestingly, each speech is more directed towards the ''other'' choice.--> [[spoiler:'''Killbane:''']] You were a fucking clown, selling energy drinks and lunch boxes. You didn't care about the crowd, just the paycheck.\\[[spoiler:'''Kia:''']] Lin. Carlos. Aisha. [[spoiler:Johnny]]... all you do is let your friends die.** During one of the intermissions between songs, Jon (the DJ from WDDT GPCG Adult Swin) will [[BreakingTheFourthWall kick the fourth wall in the balls]] and ask the player (not the Boss, the player) how much control do they have over their own life and tells them to go get a girlfriend and/or a job instead of listening to a fictional radio station in an immature and juvenile video game.* RecycledINSPACE: As part of the Saints' fame, Johnny Gat sold his likeliness to the Saints-Ultor Media Group and had a comic book named ''Gangstas In Space'' made from it. The final mission [[spoiler:if the Boss saves Shaundi in the ending]] features TheMovie of this, [[spoiler:in which the Saints shoot]] a ridiculously campy sci-fi film that also happens to be a parody of [[RedFaction Red Faction: Guerilla.]] Also, one of the DLC is also called ''Gangstas In Space''.** To wit, at the end of this mission, the Boss starts quoting [[ShoutOut Alec Mason's closing speech from Guerrilla...]] until they forget the words and the scene is cut.* RefugeInAudacity: Heavily, heavily invoked in the games' marketing and advertising. The first announcement trailer was a very quick shot of the Boss nutpunching an enemy, and much of the previews focused on things like driving around with tigers in your car, dildo-bats, and skydiving from planes to have mid-air gunbattles.* ReplayValue: When creating your character at the start of the game, you have a choice of several different voices (for example, the female protagonist has a standard American accent and a Russian accent). Far from being simply the same script read by different actors, each voice infuses the protagonist with a unique personality (for example, a Russian female protagonist will reveal feelings for a male character that are not expressed by the other voices). In addition, the option exists to have a male character with a female voice (or vice versa), and there's even a ''zombie'' voice available. All told, at least 14 different playthroughs are possible, one for each voice/body combination. And this doesn't take into consideration the many options available in terms of character body design.* ResignationsNotAccepted: [[spoiler:Killbane snaps Kiki's neck while she says she's getting her organization out of the Syndicate. Later subverted by Matt leaving the Deckers and clearly fearing this trope while he's walking to the airport with Killbane... [[PetTheDog but he just finishes up by telling Matt can use him as a job reference]].]]* {{Retirony}}: PlayedForLaughs. [[spoiler:Pierce's character in "Gangstas in Space" was apparently two days from retirement when he dies.]]** [[spoiler:Later in the mission, Johnny Moto will probably say the following shortly before his demise:]]--->[[spoiler:'''Johnny Moto''': Me? I'm not worried. This is my last tour, after we take out General Killbane I'm moving to Fiji and sailing on my new boat... The Prosperous Future.]]* RobbingTheMobBank: The plot kicks off with the Saints robbing a Syndicate bank.* RPGElements: The game has now a selection of perks which grant various benefits (calling the Saints to have one of your vehicles delivered where you stand, having tougher homies, being less affected by damages, carrying more ammunition, etc), unlocked when your respect meter reaches specific caps; said cap only makes them available, they have to be bought with your cash. The game also allows to buy accessories to customize your weapons.* RubberBandAI: Whenever you're being chased by the police and/or STAG, using the Nitrous becomes useless as their cars will simply and inexplicably ''also'' speed up.* RunningGag: Oleg and Pierce never get to finish their chess game.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes S to Z]]* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Johnny Gat. Shaundi, Viola, and Burt Reynolds as well, if you choose to go after Killbane.]]* SadisticChoice: The second to last story mission.* SavedForTheSequel: The $30 expansion Enter: The Dominatrix (originally thought to be an April Fools joke) was announced to be cancelled in favor of incorporating the ideas into the next game.* SayMyName: Parodied in ''every single'' "Nyte Blayde" radio commercial. Some may cross over with SkywardScream, but as it is only audio, we don't know for sure.* SceneryGorn: A surprising amount for such a light-hearted game. Namely, the [[spoiler:massive ship just off shore that is split in two, the remains of a national landmark blown up in a terrorist bombing, and, of course, the zombie filled district.]]* SceneryPorn: Steelport is a beautifully rendered urban environment, especially at night with thousand-foot-tall billboards and buildings covered in colored lights. Just as with ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'''s Liberty City and VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV's version of San Andreas, it's possible to spend many hours simply sightseeing around the environment. Even after some of the SceneryGorn elements described above kick in, and even after several cool locations [[spoiler: disappear after they've become "cribs" for the Saints and are changed into high rises as a result]] there's still a lot to see. * SensualSpandex: The Boss is now capable of wearing tight spandex, whether as a Superhero uniform, or a gimp suit.* SequelEscalation: Played Straight and averted.** Played straight with the craziness.*** A device that lets you remotely hijack almost any vehicle, and with the highest upgrade, military vehicles.*** ''Airstrikes''.*** Free-fall gunfighting.*** Tank skydiving.*** Luchador wrestling with a [[spoiler:chainsaw]].*** Mascot costumes.*** Hover bikes.*** V.T.O.L.s with microwave lasers.*** Dildo bats.*** A ZombieApocalypse.** Averted by the level design and demands of the new graphics and lighting engine.*** No day-night cycle.*** Clothing options simplified--you can't wear clothing in layers and have different "wear options" for each article.*** There are no food, music or car stores.*** There are no longer health items, but also, nothing to replace them either, like a cover system. You just have to upgrade your health to absorb more damage, rather than avert or avoid it.*** Not as many secret areas and not as much environment variety.* SequenceBreaking: Averted. Several of the initial missions serve as tutorials on basic game functions like purchasing property and upgrading vehicles, while others introduce new optional diversions and activities. However, you can complete most of these actions or activities before starting the tutorial mission. Rather than making the mission needlessly redundant once you do start it, you will simply skip over the parts you've already done, up to and including skipping the mission entirely.* SerialEscalation: A few days before the game was released, Saints Row 4 was announced, which would be "[[UpToEleven even wilder than The Third]]."* ShapedLikeItself: The final Deckers mission, during the text adventure portion. [[spoiler:"Look at Unicorn." It looks like a unicorn.]]. None of the bosses find this very funny.-->'''Male Voice 2''': '''FUCK YOU, GAME!'''* ShoutOut:** The default taunt belongs to Wrestling/JohnCena, there's one for [[Wrestling/RicFlair Slick Ric]], you might spot Melina's splits, and numerous other wrestling style poses, outfits and taunts. [[Wrestling/HulkHogan Something to do with one]] [[Wrestling/RobVanDam of the actors in the game perhaps?]]** One of the other taunts is the [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir Carlton dance!]]** Not only that, you have the [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} President Scroob salute]] and the [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze Ninja]] [[Music/VanillaIce Rap dance]] amongst many many others.** [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Sad Panda]] as well, which was also a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown in VideoGame/SaintsRow2.** The game begins with [[Franchise/StarWars a familliar text crawl]], with [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey familiar music playing]].** [[Wrestling/RicFlair WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]]** The Japanese commercial in the beginning of the game has Pierce do a [[Franchise/StreetFighter Hadouken]]. It's available to the player as the "Quarter-circle forward + A" taunt.** One mission involves "rescuing" [[Series/TheWire prostitutes stuck in shipping containers]].*** One of the districts is name [[Series/TheWire New Colvin]] as well.** There's several well-hidden references on a sign for "Missing Ships" (as shown [[http://media.gamebandits.com/images/2011/11/saintsrow-easteregg.jpg here]]): including many real-life ghost ships alongside the ''[[WesternAnimation/WallE Axiom]]'', [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy the Heart of Gold]], [[VideoGame/DeadSpace the USG Ishimura]] and, last of all, [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 the Borealis.]]*** Speaking of ''Half-Life'', the Sonic Boom weapon you get in Act 3 is pretty much the Gravity Gun, though with less grabbing objects and more [[LudicrousGibs messily killing people]]. Furthering the shoutout, the very next mission, which is pretty much dedicated to throwing shit around with your new toy, has you dealing with a ZombieApocalypse.*** Furthermore, one of the Sonic Boom based Whored Mode challenges is called [[VideoGame/StreetFighter BeGuiled.]]** The achievements have a few jokes in the as well, one being the [[WesternAnimation/GIJoe Porkchop Sandwiches]] Achievement for a firefighting related mission later on.*** One achievement is called ''"Gellin' Like Magellan"'', a line from an old Dr. Scholls advertisement.*** While it isn't an achievement, one mission concerning the Deckers is called [[WesternAnimation/GIJoe Stop All The Downloading]].** The "Opulence, You Has It" achievement is a reference to this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjWYbcbpiWA DirecTV commercial.]]** Almost all of the taunts have some sort of reference in it.** The last Angel mission, wherein you drive around with a tiger in your car, references Film/TheHangover.*** It is more likely a reference to ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'', in which the main character's father attempts to train him to conquer his fear by making him drive a car with a cougar in it.** During the first mission in Steelport, you take command of a UAV [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare while a rock and roll Leitmotif plays]].** Matt Miller's avatar seems suspiciously similar to a [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Balrog]]*** It also bears some similarity to a [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Mass Produced Eva]], and when you get a copy of his avatar, the fight between the two includes a lot of vicious grappling, stabbing and biting typical of the series. May be justified, considering Matt's cyber god complex.*** Matt's dragon avatar is blue, while the Boss's is purple...much like Evangelion Units 00 and 01, respectively.** And on hijacking her first VTOL, Female Voice 3 gives us a duel shout out by saying "[[WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} Whoooa,]] Daaanger [[Film/TopGun Zoooooone!!!]]*** Likewise at least one voice, when jumping out of a jet can be heared shouting "Jester's dead!"*** And for the trifecta Male Voice 1 after commenting the VTOL is like a helicopter that doesn't suck, will go "Wooooo talk to me Goose!"** The midair tank battle where Boss sounds like s\he's having the time of his\her life mirrors ''that'' scene in ''Film/TheATeam'' film. S\he might even [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this.-->"I love it when a plan comes together."** Female Voice 1 might also growl about the STAG jets not being cleared for a fly by, recalling the RunningGag from ''Film/TopGun''. As she referenced the film on hijacking her first jet, she knows her films.** ''I'm Free - Free Falling'' is a homage to [[Music/TomPetty the song of the same name]][[note]][[RefrainFromAssuming Only the second part is the title, anyway]]; the quote is the song's chorus[[/note]].** One of Killbane's plans with the Saints is a Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob.** If left sitting idle for a while, Female Voice 2, the Russian female, will muse, "I wonder how my [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV cousin Niko]] is doing. It's been so long since he called."** When hijacking a VTOL, Male Voice 3, the Cockney voice, might say, [[Film/ThePhantomMenace "Let's try spinning, that's a good trick."]]** During the second to last mission, when the Boss is given the choice to [[spoiler: stop Killbane or Save Shaundi]], regardless of what the player chooses, Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" plays, overriding the radio, while you race to [[Film/ShortCircuit catch the Big Bad]] or [[WesternAnimation/{{Shrek 2}} save your friend]]** S.T.A.G. is basically an {{Expy}} of Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D., complete with Helicarrier. One of the achivements even references ComicBook/NickFury.** Newsclippings from ''VideoGame/ThePunisher'' game based on the [[Film/ThePunisher2004 Tom Jane movie]] also feature in the game, created by the same developer company. Much of Saints Row's run-and-gun game play mirrors what was created for it, including the human shield, toss, and neck-break.** The Professor Genki announcers are extremely reminiscent of the ones from ''VideoGame/MadWorld''.*** Not to mention ''Series/AmericanGladiators''...which one of the narrators hosted in real life.** Considering the fact that Oleg is a [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]]ing great GeniusBruiser it's probably no accident he calls one of his failed clones an "Abomination."*** Once he joins the Saints, Oleg dons a [[ManInWhite white suit and purple turtleneck]], which just happen to be the signature attire of [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse The Kingpin]].** One of the neighborhoods in Decker territory is called [[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy Salander]].*** Which is the neighborhood where the red-haired female hacker stays.** Upgrading the baseball bat turns it into Charlie's Rat Stick from ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', complete with "NO RATS" written on it to make the reference perfectly clear.** The neighborhood with the nuclear plant is [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Burns Hill]], of course.** The golf-cart is called the [[Series/{{Jackass}} Knoxville.]]** One of the wave titles in Whored Mode is "[[PowerRangers Rita: Make my monster grow!]]"** Likewise, one is [[Anime/CowboyBebop Y. Kano: TANK! Let's blow this joint, 3... 2... 1...]]** Another is [[Film/TwentyEightDaysLater 31 Days Later.]]** One has you taking on a line of zombies and you've got a chainsaw, titled Romero's Revenge.** Another one, where you use a blow-up doll as a weapon, is called "The Real Girl", and the description is "[[Film/LarsAndTheRealGirl Make Lars Proud]]".** When the Saints rob the armory, Female Voice 3 practically dribbles over the bomb.--->[[Film/WaynesWorld It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.]]** In "Gangstas in Space", [[StarWars Killbane will announce that he is the Boss's father before their fight]], leading to an agonized BigNo from the PC.*** In the same mission, the Boss using a stalagmite to kill Killbane is a reference to the infamously bad ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' fight against a Gorn.*** As well the method of running around shooting "lava crystals" is suspiciously similar to the final boss fight in ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves''.*** The mission ends with the Boss quoting the end of ''VideoGame/RedFaction: Guerrilla''.** During the DLC "Gangstas in Space" (not to be confused with the above mission with the same name) you visit backstage areas with various set pieces and props. One of the sets is for ''Red Faction: Guerrilla''.** One of the DLC weapons (a scoped automatic rifle) is known as the [[Manga/{{Golgo 13}} Togo-13]].*** The more conventional sniper rifle is called the [[Film/TheUsualSuspects McManus]] 2015** Murderbrawl is one big Shout Out to wrestling. You can even see some wrestling tropes in the mission (like the easily distracted ref).** ''VideoGame/{{Uplink}}'' can occasionally be seen on some of the ingame computer monitors.** One of the flashier motorcycles is called the "[[Manga/{{Akira}} Kaneda]]".*** The other most common motorcycle is a chopper called the "[[Series/CHiPs Estrada]]".** When the player is disguised as Cyrus Temple and checking out STAG prototypes with Kia, using one of the female voices causes the player to ask if [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi the Spectre is any good for forest combat]].** One of the trophies /achievements in the Genkibowl VII DLC is called [[Franchise/FantasticFour Flame On]]. Another one which you can get from the same activity is "Theatre/CatOnAHotTinRoof".** The Cyber Buster weapon is a reference to the ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' games.** Completing all of the assassination missions grants the player the "[[Franchise/AssassinsCreed Everything is Permitted]]" trophy/achievement.*** The text of the achievement claims (in a somewhat doubtful tone) that, by killing all of your targets, you have saved millions of lives. This was the (false) justification given for the assassinations in ''{{Film/Wanted}}''.** Possibly unintentional, but if you rapidly tap the fire button on the STAG air motorbike the gun sounds like an [[StarWars AT-AT]] firing.** Whilst storming the Syndicate Tower, Pierce suggests the Brutes be called [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Bricks]].** The animal mascots resemble the bear costumes from the spy flick ''Film/TheAvengers1998''.** The RunningGag of Loren getting angry when people mistake him for a Frenchman instead of a Belgian may be a reference to Literature/HerculePoirot, who considers that particular bit of confusion to be the bane of his existence.** The achievement for upgrading one of each type of weapon claims that it was done "[[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 by the Power of Saints Row!]]"** The achievement for completing 100% of City Takeover is called "Film/BrightLightsBigCity."** The fast method of car jacking is called [[Series/TheDukesOfHazzard Bo-Duke-en]] because you jump in through the window (or the windshield) feet-first.** Female Gimps look exactly like the Mistress unit from '*VideoGame/DungeonKeeper2''.** A dark one where if Boss uses the first female voice she'll say the first luchadore she kills (by remote controlling his car, going on a rampage then killing himself) will look like a roid rage attack, ala Wrestling/ChrisBenoit.** One of the Assassination targets is [[Film/TheCableGuy a Cable Guy called Jim.]][[note]]The eponymous character is played by ''Jim'' Carrey.[[/note]]** A radio commercial on [=KRhyme=] mentions [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Equestria Girls.]]** One mission has DJ Vangela hiring you to kill his rival, DJ Enigmus[[note]]Mess with the names and you get "[[WebVideo/InternetPersonalityVangelus Vangelus]]" and "Enigma", hosts of [[VideoGame/CityOfHeroes The Cape Radio]].[[/note]]** The BDSM club Safeword is at least partially based on the nightclub in the music video for "[[Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood Relax]]", in particular chariots being used as a method of transportation. "Relax" is also on the game's soundtrack.** When Zimos asks the Boss's real name during a mission, Female Voice 1 will respond with "[[Comicbook/GiveMeLiberty Martha Fucking Washington]]".** One of the airplane models is called "[[Film/{{Passenger 57}} Snipes 57]]".** The Deckers are one big shout to ''{{TabletopGame/Shadowrun}}'s'' Decker player class. Just compare your trip into cyberspace in the mission "[=http://deckers.die=]" to how cyberspace runs are depicted in most ''Shadowrun'' video game adaptations.** The opening mission has the Saints robbing a bank whilst wearing oversized caricatured masks. The achievement for completing this is called ''[[Movie/PointBreak Dead Presidents]]''.** In the opening mission the Saints' method for robbing a bank involves blowing up the structure around the bank vault and airlifting the entire vault away on a cargo helicopter. The same thing happens in the opening scene to ''Film/BatmanForever''.** ''Nyte Blade'' gives the mandatory ''Series/{{Angel}}'' reference which has the basic skeleton of the show (a vampire with a soul fighting for the ones he loves as extremists hunt him down) and the promos that play on the radio mirror the Buffy and Angel TV shorts, if overacted.* ShowWithinAShow:** ''Nyte Blayde'', the story of a handsome yet misunderstood vampire hunter that regularly saves the world from vampires. [[note]]NOOOO. It's a shitty vampire show![[/note]]** ''Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax'' is another popular programme, complete with the announcers from Murderbrawl!* SkywardScream: Delivered during the [[spoiler: "Gangstas in Space" ending]]. [[RuleOfThree Three times.]]** Four. Though the fourth occurrence happens for a [[Franchise/StarWars different reason]] than the first three.* SmallNameBigEgo: Matt Miller, primarily due to the fact that he considers himself a [[AGodAmI 'Cyber God']].* SmartPeoplePlayChess: The chess matches between Pierce and Oleg, which are always ruined by something. One match almost goes to Pierce, but Oleg finds a way to subtly RageQuit.* SmashMook: The basic brutes.* SociopathicHero: Depending on player action, the emphasis can be either on the 'Heroic' part or the 'Sociopath' part. Either way the Boss is still a noticeably nicer person than he/she was in the second game. There's also the aforementioned HeroAntagonist Cyrus Temple, who falls squarely into this trope. Though he starts to lose the "hero" part after he went JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope with his increasingly extreme actions.* SophisticatedAsHell: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yD_odNvgUM#t=50s The game's intro]] pulls it off twice.--> Conquest. The story of human history. Since time immemorial, great leaders have risen from humble beginnings to [[DramaticEllipsis . . .]] [[BuffySpeak do shit.]]\\A Saints movie is in development. Johnny Gat and Shaundi are pop-culture icons. And Pierce... Well, who gives a fuck about Pierce?** Also used in a survival phone call.---> Hey, my friend, there was some rioting after the Stilwater benefit concert and the cops were hatin' man, no love, just bustin' heads. How 'bout the Saints go down there and MAKE 'EM FUCKIN' PAY FOR BREAKIN' THAT SHIT UP?** Killbane also loves to play this for what it's worth.---> ''[[spoiler:(after he kills Kiki)]]'' Viola, your sun is setting, but it's not too late. There's still time to grab Apollo's chariot and drive that fucker back across the sky.* SoundtrackDissonance: "You're the Best" begins playing as you tear wrestlers to shreds with a chainsaw during Murderbrawl.** The "Genki Escort" diversions in the Genkibowl DLC have you driving a flamethrower-equipped vehicle, murdering people to please Professor Genki. The vehicle always is tuned to the classical music station.* SpoofAesop: The description for the 'Ow My Balls!' achievement/trophy.-->'''Did your first nutshot and testicle assault, sack tapping is bad news kids!'''* {{Squick}}: An in-universe example. While traversing through the basement of Safeword (the BDSM club which Zimos is held hostage at), the Boss and Pierce comment on their mutual disgust at their current situation with the boss stating that they are going to bathe in hand sanitizer after they leave.* StateSec: STAG.* StockSuperpowers: [[spoiler:The Boss temporarily develops several in the finale of ''The Trouble With Clones'']].** HandBlast: A relatively weak one that can't even blow up a motorcycle with a direct hit.** SuperSpeed: At a flat-out run it can build up enough momentum to shove cement mixers or bulldozers out of the way.** SuperStrength: Sufficient to OneHitKill a ''Brute''. (Weaker enemies are reduced to showers of LudicrousGibs.)** SuperToughness: Bordering on NighInvulnerability.* {{Stripperific}}: Every single female gang member with the exception of Philippe Loren's personal assistants, as well as the ludicrous amounts of prostitutes on the streets. Men in gimpsuits also feature prominently. And of course, the player character can be stripped down to a G-string and pasties without activating a pixel censor filter that is present in case of FullFrontalAssault.** Lampshaded and mocked when Viola is forced to wear the Bloody Canoness's get-up, a NaughtyNun outfit, in the mission to kidnap Nyte Blayde's actor.* StylisticSuck: The Gangstas InSpace movie, which is presented like every lame cheesy '50s sci-fi movie ever made, with acting and writing bad enough to make ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace'' proud. PlayedForLaughs. Special mention for the BigNo's and LukeIAmYourFather. The DLC seems to be a massive parody of Creator/MichaelBay-style action movies with even worse acting from the Boss.** If the radio commercials are any indication, Nyte Blayde. Or at least Birk's acting. He's a LargeHam in a role that doesn't really call for hamminess, constantly shouting his lines or [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Talking! Like! This!!!!]]* SubordinateExcuse: If your character uses Female Voice 2, she makes many [[ThinkingOutLoud slips-of-the-tongue]] regarding her unrequited love for Pierce, including wondering if she should [[StalkerWithACrush send him a sex machine with "From Your Secret Admirer" attached and asking Kinzie if she has cameras set up in his bedroom.]]* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Johnny Gat.]]* SuperSerum: In one of the [=DLCs=] the boss gets fed a radiocative Saints Flow energy drink it giving him/her [[SuperSpeed the speed to outrun cars]], [[SuperStrength the strength to displace cars and punch people into chunks]], [[NighInvulnerability immunity to any non melee attacks]], the ability to shoot [[PlayingWithFire fire balls]], and [[PsychicPowers Telepathy]]; [[StatusQuoIsGod it doesn't last though]].* SWATTeam: These guys appear as the EliteMooks for Steelport's local law enforcement.* TheSyndicate: The main villains are called this, and they walk the walk.* TagLine: "Strap It On".* TakeOverTheCity: You can take over parts of Steelport in various ways. Taken UpToEleven in one ending.* TakeThat:** The in-universe series "Nyte Blayde" is a humongous one to numerous vampire shows such as ''Series/{{Angel}}'', ''Series/TrueBlood'' and ''Series/TheVampireDiaries''. [[VoiceOfDramatic Dramatically voiced]] radio commercials for the show attempt to interest the viewers in horrendously trite and cliche plot turns and contain snippets full of unashamed {{Narm}}, {{Wangst}} and BigNo.*** Meanwhile, the lead actor is portrayed as an arrogant and ineffectual prettyboy who fails to do as much as kick down a door during the first mission where he's supposed to aid you. He's also [[TooDumbToLive a complete idiot.]]*** One scene has Boss refer to Nyte Blayde as a shitty vampire show. Most every scene has their own unique dialogue, but every Boss voice will diss Nyte Blade.*** Although almost every other character in the game, except for maybe a few Saints like Oleg and Shaundi, will apparently be well-versed and knowledgable of the show, perhaps making it a GuiltyPleasure in-universe, not unlike many of those real-life vampire shows. Matt Miller, for example, is a huge fan of the show and modeled a part of his Deckers usenet cyberworld after episode three of Nyte Blayde, "Rise of the Ciprian Order." while claiming the show has some sort of good allegorical writing... which, to be honest, [[BookDumb would be just the kinda thing the Boss isn't into]].** The "Nobody Loves Me" {{Emo}} fashion shop. Complete with a [[SuicideAsComedy razor with cutting edge dripping with fluorescent paint]] for a logo and humongous, multi-story advertising billboards spattered with "NOBODY NOBODY NOBODY NOBODY NOBODY LOVES ME"** There are multiple references to the Iraq and Vietnam wars.*** You have the paramilitary STAG in Steelport to aid them in clearing out "radical elements". And it's [[SarcasmMode totally not]] an occupation. Said army has two banners that look just like [[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/2003_Mission_Accomplished_speech the infamously notorious "Mission Accomplished" banner]]. You get to burn them with {{Molotov Cocktail}}s. Cyrus Temple's motto of "shock and awe" was also referred to early on in the Iraq War.*** Also, Male Voice 3, the Cockney male, mentions to Zimos to have [[ShellShockedVeteran Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)]] during the Ho Boat mission.** There is a reward for killing 200 "mascots" in the game. It's up to debate as to just what is this aimed at - calling out the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom, taking a spin on the well documented loathing most sports fans have for mascots, or simply taking a position against consumerism and aggressive advertisement - but it ought to offend someone.--->"Mascots make me want to take target practice."** The Bloody Canoness is a take that at the revealing costumes females in comics have. It's Lampshaded by Viola, who complains about having to disguise herself as the Canoness in one mission.** There's a commercial for a text adventure game called "Dragons and Tears" that's an obvious pot shot at gamers who believe gameplay is more important than graphics. You have to ''play said text game'' in the last Deckers storyline mission, much to the Boss's bemusement and rage.** The Boss is asked to sign a copy of the comic book ''Gangstas In Space'' by a fan. Said fan's nervousness, stuttering, and general social ineptitude are a jab at the stereotypical comic book fan.** When zombies are brought up, Oleg thinks of metaphoric zombies: the celebrity-obsessed, media-drugged masses.** A strange one comes up in the DLC ''Gangsters in Space.'' In the first mission during the shoot Boss will go into a rage, and when Jenny asks about it s/he will say it was about their phone, as in the in game phone used to call homies, go on missions, GPS, music and such.-->Don't think I won't put you in the microwave...oh no, not you, it's this phone.* TakeThatAudience: [[Series/{{Delocated}} Jon]], DJ of the Creator/AdultSwim station, will go on a fourth-wall-breaking rant at the player, telling him to get a job and a girlfriend, and generally expressing his disgust with the player. And by player, he means the actual player (you), not the PlayerCharacter.** Possibly more a TakeThat to players who complain about the changes to the game as Jon mentions the lack of freedom allowed and that everything was planned by the developers and there's only an illusion of freedom than the players in general. * TankGoodness: The Challenger is a fairly faithful reproduction of the M1 Abrams (which is odd, considering it shares a name with a real-life British main battle tank), armed with both a cannon, a machine gun, and another machine gun which may be manned by a homie in your group. You get to rampage with it on the streets in the new Mayhem variant: Tank Mayhem.** And, of course, outdone by STAG with their Crusader tank. Inspired by the Israeli Merkava IV (Though flatter, making the rear compartment too narrow for use as a personnel carrier), this mean war machine is armed with anti-infantry laser, a much more powerful microwave laser to be used by the copilot, and, if muzzle electricity discharge is any indicator, a railgun for a main weapon. What firmly establishes it as a vehicular badass is the cutscene in which it drops from ten thousand meters without a parachute and not only keeps the player inside alive, but can also drive away under its own power without suffering more than a couple ignition issues. And THEN it is permanently added to the player's garage.** Not to mention the unlockable [[AceCustom Crusader Mark II]].** And the ASP tank from cyberspace, which is [[LethalJokeCharacter surprisingly lethal for a mass of untextured polygons]].*** And all but the ASP tank can, for what seems like the first time in gaming, roll over and crush flat any vehicle beneath them short of another tank or APC. Not cause them to immediately explode, like so many games before it, but actually crush the vehicle into a pile of scrap.* ATasteOfPower: ** Inverted with ''The Trouble With Clones'', where you gain various superpowers (including SuperSpeed, SuperStrength, [[KamehameHadoken fireballs]], and invincibility) in the DLC's final mission (and even then, only the first half of the mission).** Played straight at the very start when you have fully-upgraded weapons and BottomlessMagazines for the bank heist gone wrong.* TechnicolorEyes: The eye color options in customization. They even include gold, [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]], [[PurpleEyes purple]], [[ProphetEyes silver]], [[BlackEyesOfCrazy black]], [[MindControlEyes white]], and even green cat eyes!* TeensAreMonsters: The Deckers, who are at most 15-16 years old.* TemptingFate: After destroying STAG's aircraft carrier, Viola comments on the Saints needing to still watch STAG, as they're not beaten yet. Pierce, of course, [[YouJustHadToSayIt has to say]]:-->'''Pierce:''' Why? We just blew up their fucking aircraft carrier! What more could they possibly send at us?** This is followed by an immediate quick cut to "12 hours later," where [[spoiler: [[FromBadToWorse STAG reinforcements have placed the city under martial law.]]]]** The guy who plays Johnny Gat in Gangastas in Space basically has no lines that aren't this. * ThatThingIsNotMyChild: While Oleg wrestles with a Brute[[spoiler: (of which he is the genetic model for)]], we get this exchange.-->'''Brute:''' Father...\\'''Oleg:''' You are no child of mine, just an abomination.* TheEndOrIsIt: At the end of The Trouble With Clones DLC, the narrator outright says "The End... ''question mark?''"* ThemeSongPowerUp: The mission "Party Time", in which you take over the Morningstar penthouse is accompanied by "Power". Similarly, the fight with Killbane has "[[Film/TheKarateKid1984 You're The Best Around]]" playing and the penultimate mission's SadisticChoice has "Holding Out For A Hero". The music manages to be appropriate to both choices, with one referencing Film/ShortCircuit and the other referencing WesternAnimation/{{Shrek 2}}.* ThisMeansWar: Monica Hughes almost says this (her exact words are "this is war") when Killbane has the Hughes bridge destroyed.* ThreateningShark: One of the DLC packs gives you a weapon that can summon one to eat your target.* ThrowAwayGuns: Certain oversized weapons are available exclusively from fallen enemies, such as the Minigun and Incinerator (Carried by gang brutes), the Riot Shield (SWAT and STAG teams), the Shock Hammer (Decker specialists) and the GL G20 multi-grenade launcher (Luchadore specialists). You can't replenish their ammunition or add them to your inventory for later use.** Technically, you can use the Riot Shield forever, as well as the Shock Hammer as its secondary attack doesn't spend charges. It's beyond impractical though, as while wielding any non-standard weapon, you cannot jump or enter vehicles and, in case of the Minigun and Incinerator, are also slowed to a crawl.* TooDumbToLive: Pedestrians who just watched someone drive up in a tank, fight the police, SWAT ''and'' army for half an hour on foot while armed with a giant dildo, throw people a hundred feet through the air, break their necks (Or with one of the DLC, kill them by biting their throats out) will insult the Boss or run up with 'Saints out of Steelport' signs.* TooHotForTV: Parodied in Series/XPlay's review of the game, where censors don't even ''begin'' to describe [[RefugeInAudacity what the hell is going on in this game]].-->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Adam Sessler]]''': ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything From the weapon of choice that we can't show on TV]], [[GagPenis to the character sliders that we can't show on TV]], [[RefugeInAudacity to the club that we can't show on TV]]...''* TooMuchInformation: In the final mission of "The Trouble with Clones", [[spoiler:after gaining telepathy from Jimmy's irradiated Saints Flow, the Boss asks to be let out of Jimmy's mind before they see... Cue appalled "well, shit".]]* TookALevelInBadass: It took one game, but Pierce has maken a huge leap from the last game. Just as well, Shaundi went from a stoner who got kidnapped by a strung out DJ, to a ''really'' angry ActionGirl.** Ironically, despite Shaundi having become a lot more bloodthirsty and seemingly competent in the third installment, she is the character who needs to be rescued the most number of times thoroughout the game and actually does very little (if anything) to actually help the Saints fight The Syndicate.* TookALevelInKindness: The Boss' personality has become significantly less brutal and cold-blooded since ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. Granted, The Boss is still a homicidal maniac, but now s/he's much more of a fun, lovable sort of homicidal maniac.* TrainingFromHell: Angel puts the Boss through this to help them get ready to face Killbane. Let's just say it involves some... ''interesting'' training partners. Even the MadeOfIron badass that is the Boss thinks he's insane for suggesting these.-->'''Boss:''' A fucking '''''[[PantheraAwesome tiger]]'''''?** Made ironic considering for every mission except one, he's too scared to even take on Killbane [[spoiler: And still manages to not do much in the mission where they actually fight,]] yet is supposed to be an expert on how to train a gang leader that has survived a coma and nearly single-handedly defeated six FUCKING gangs by his/herself!* TransformingMecha: STAG's VTOL units can switch between helicopter-like flight and airplane-like flight. ''Gangstas in Space'' adds airborne vehicles which do the same.* TronLines: The Deckers have Tron clothing highlights, applies literally when the Boss goes into their cyberspace.-->'''Pierce:''' What are they wearing?\\'''Latina Boss:''' I dunno, but it kind of turns me on.\\'''Pierce:''' [[FlatWhat What.]]* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Most of Steelport looks like a reasonable modern city, and the traffic looks like whatever selection you might see outdoors in any megapolis. However, technology has clearly gotten forward for those with ample resources to spare, given the [[StarScraper decisively cyberpunk inspired 200-something floor Syndicate towers]] that dominate the skyline and dwarf more conventional skyscrapers, the Deckers' virtual reality network, EMP grenades and hyperspeed roller skates, and the genetically engineered Brutes gangs are capable of deploying. The government eventually trumps the gangs' achievements with the STAG initiative, whose operatives come with an impressive array of experimental weapons including laser weaponry, hoverbikes, powered armor, next generation VTOL jets, and a humongous flying aircraft carrier, most of which looks like it would fit comfortably in RedFaction.** Also part SchizoTech, as plenty of VHS tapes are found inside buildings. The custom radio song list is referred to as a mix-tape and its icon is an audio cassette, suggesting the songs are recorded on one. There are ''NO'' high-definition flat screen televisions in the game. All of them are giant tube tvs from the early 80's, and all of them have fuzzy reception. The only computers shown in the game are owned by Kinzie, the Deckers, and STAG, and most of those only show up during story missions.* TwoLinesNoWaiting: A variant; in the first two games, [[FourLinesAllWaiting the storylines of all three gangs were independent of each other]]. However, in The Third, the story is more linear, with all the gang arcs interconnected.* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Both used and subverted.** Several missions offer you a choice of rewards with potential long-term effects, including blowing up key portions of the Steelport skyline.** Subverted by the final mission. Though there are two choices with distinct consequences, you aren't considered to have completed the game until you replay the final mission a second time, where you are forced to take the choice you didn't pick the first time.* UnconventionalVehicleChase: [[PlayerCharacter The Boss]] ([[AndZoidberg and]] [[NoRespectGuy Pierce]]) rescues Zimos from [[MadeASlave sex slavery in an S&M dungeon]] and the two of them escape in a rickshaw pulled by Zimos in full bondage gear, chased by enforcers ''also'' driving rickshaws pulled by bondage-clad submissives, styled to look like a Roman ChariotRace. As if this all weren't weird enough, the rickshaws also ''[[MadeOfExplodium explode]]'' when they crash.[[note]]According to WordOfGod, when the sequence was first created, the programmers simply designed a rickshaw skin to overlay on the physics used by the game's [[EveryCarIsAPinto cars]] and didn't bother to disable the "explodes on crash" flag during testing. When they later disabled the flag, a very vocal faction [[ThrowItIn missed the explosions and wanted them restored]] [[RuleOfCool and damn the logic]], and finally got their way mere days before the code was finalized.[[/note]]* TheUnfought: Monica Hughes.* {{Unicorn}}: In the Deckers Die mission Boss plays through a text adventure that ends with a unicorn. Petting it kills you, killing it wins the game. Boss will comment on it.--> '''Female Voice 3:''' Why? Why Mr. Unicorn? (killed by the unicorn)\\'''Female Voice 3:''' Wow. Just...wow. (killing the unicorn)\\'''Female Voice 1:''' And my childhood has just been crushed. (killed by the unicorn)\\'''Female Voice 1:''' What does the writer have against unicorns? (killing the unicorn)\\'''Male Voice 1:''' Dick move, unicorn. Dick. Move. (killed by the unicorn)\\'''Male Voice 3:''' Grr, stupid bloody creature! (killed by the unicorn)\\'''Male Voice 2:''' They should put that shit on the Trapper Keeper! (killing the unicorn)** Later, it can be revealed that Female Voice 3, the Latina, collects glass unicorns.* TheUnmasking: Killbane unmasking Angel is the reason that Angel works with the Saints. [[spoiler: You can choose to unmask Killbane during a wrestling match with him; choosing to unmask him will give you his mask to wear, while giving him mercy will allow you to learn the Apoco-Fist technique from him.]]* TheUnreveal: Neither the player nor The Boss ever find out what exactly 'feel boss' is.** Though it's implied to be a sexual act, a drug, or some combination of the two, that's apparently [[{{Squick}} too messed up]] for even Shaundi to want to talk about. *** There is a sign a homeless guy in the cutscene of the Boss and Shaundi right after landing in the streets of Steeport that offers a Feel Boss for $5.** Kinzie states over the course of one mission that she's used the Internet to learn the Boss's real name, only to have the Boss cut her off before she can say it, saying he/she doesn't know who could be listening in.* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The inversion of this trope. When the bank robbery in the first mission goes south the following conversation takes place:--> '''Johnny Gat''': "You got a plan or are we just shootin' all these motherfuckers?"\\'''Boss''': "That ''is'' my plan".\\'''Gat''': "Works for me".** The mission ends with [[spoiler: Boss, Shaundi and Gat being arrested and then handed over to TheSyndicate.]]** The mission following it does the samething, Gat tells Boss and Shaundi to get off the plane and he stays behind to fly the plane to Stilwater. [[spoiler: This doesn't work out too well considering The BigBad of the game is still on board and in the Cockpit with him.]]* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlmSzZKeExY The "Power" trailer]] depicts a massive gun battle in a nightclub in the midst of which is FBI-agent-turned-Saint Kinzie Kensington, on her laptop. She looks up once at Boss/Playa firing away right beside her for a moment, smirks and shakes her head, then goes back to whatever she was doing on the computer. Though the Deckers.Die trailer reveals she's the Lieutenant that deals with the Deckers, [[FridgeLogic so she was probably busy]] [[HollywoodHacking dealing with them attacking in conjunction]] with the Morning Star members that are at the club.** Unlike Stilwater, the citizens of Steelport apparently do not care that you're running around with a submachine gun, at least until you start shooting. Even gang members walking by won't attack you unless you pick a fight.*** Though this is Averted with STAG, who, if you're in the downtown "restricted" area [[spoiler: after you blow up their gunship,]] will start shooting at you, completely unprovoked, and the Boss will always be on medium-to-high alert with them.** Early in the game, the mission where you attack a Morningstar-owned penthouse in downtown to conquer it begins with the Boss landing in the middle of a party while wearing a parachute, and noone reacts (until the Boss begins shooting).** The fans who want a photograph of the Boss remain at their spawning point[[note]]unless killed, jostled, or disturb if there is a fight in the immediate surrounding (which is definitively ''a lot'' closer than what common sense and self-preservation instinct would suggest): then, they respawn right there when the area is reinitialised[[/note]] until the Boss allows them to photograph him[=/=]her. So, if you didn't find the Arapice Island Photo Op before [[spoiler: the zombie invasion]], the fan while remain in the middle of [[spoiler: a closed deserted island full of toxic gas and aggressive zombies]] until meeting the Boss.* UnwinnableByMistake: Due to a glitch in the timers, playing the game on a slower computer may [[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2286592 make a certain section of the mission The Belgian Problem impossible to complete]], meaning you can never complete the main storyline (at least without an upgrade).** The presence of too many Deckers specialists can crash a game, potentially preventing completionist players from finishing Snatch missions in their neighborhoods and effectively preventing them from controlling all of Steelport, unless they buy the neighborhoods. The only solution is to run the game with UsefulNotes/DirectX 9 and setting all the graphics settings to low.* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In "The Trouble with Clones" DLC [[spoiler: the Aisha and Tag Brutes have gotten together and it looks like you'll be able to take them away without further trouble... then a National Guard helicopter blows the Aisha Brute up with a missile and the Tag Brute runs away again.]]* UriahGambit: "Rasputin's" final assassination contract. Fortunately, another client also realized this and [[LaserGuidedKarma put a contract on]] ''[[LaserGuidedKarma him]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma immediately after]].* VideoGameCaringPotential: Your homies are genuinely grateful when you revive them. In fact, some are even [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential shocked]] [[DevilinPlainSight you]] [[FauxAffablyEvil would]] [[TheSociopath actually]] [[NominalHero help them up]].** You can sometimes run into random fans on the street, and they'll get excited that they've actually met a real Saint. If you press the "compliment" button near them they audibly {{Squee}}.* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: One of the main appeals of the game.** Aside from the civilian [=NPC=]s, you can be cruel to your homies too. Feel free to abandon them when they need to be revived or rescued from a statue rigged with bombs.** In one mission, you disrupt the Syndicate's human trafficking. You either have a choice of keeping the girls for the Saints' ''own'' brothels, or selling them back to the Syndicate. Of course, since you end up bringing down the Syndicate and taking over all their businesses, they'll end up working for the Saints one way or the other.** The insurance fraud side-missions allows one to be particularly cruel to the Boss.** ...and then, of course, there is the button that is dedicated almost entirely to [[GroinAttack hitting people in the nuts]]...* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Shoot your homies too much and they'll leave the party and turn against you. * VillainSong: ''Power'' works as this, with Music/KanyeWest and Boss jockeying to be the biggest asshole.* VillainHasAPoint: Senator Monica Hughes is completely right that the gangs of Steelport have become too powerful and need to be stopped. Especially when the Saints could have blown up Syndicate Tower, an act which qualifier's them as domestic terrorists.* VillainWithGoodPublicity: This is a subtle but important theme. The Saints have become pop-culture icons and general superstars to the point that they give autographs while robbing a bank. Police will often ask if the Boss can sign their mug shot while trying to arrest them. Gat evidently dislikes this, and wishes they could go back to just killing people.** Both Loren and Killbane play this straight as well. Loren's weapons dealing is his legit business practice (the human trafficking being the illegal one); his weapons store "Powder" is a legal gun store and his gun trade is talked about on the radio like any other such business. Killbane is a professional wrestler and casino owner while also dealing in illicit drugs.** Killbane trashes the Saints' name in a news interview while trying to keep up his own good image, to which the Boss will wonder how the Saints' own PR department will handle it. After this, protesters holding up anti-Saints signs can be seen throughout the city. It is also reflected in the commentary during Murderbrawl XXXI. The conclusion of Murderbrawl XXXI is also this [[spoiler:as it destroys Killbane's personal reputation enough to end the Luchadores arc]].** The endings also get in on this. [[spoiler: If you choose to save Shaundi and, by extension, the Magarac Island monument, the Saints now have good publicity. This is in contrast to STAG's [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating tanking approval]], which forces them be withdrawn. If you choose to take on Killbane and STAG, you defy this as the Saints return to "screw the publicity, fuck with us at your own risk."]]* VocalDissonance: You can mix and match bodies and voices for the Boss. You can have a male body with a female voice, or the other way around. And then there's the zombie voice...* WarriorPoet: Killbane. Sure, his poetry mostly involves brutality and threats of murder, but at least he puts some friggin' ''effort'' into it.* WasItReallyWorthIt: Pierce asks this of The Boss if you go after Killbane in "Three Way", [[spoiler:since you had to sacrifice Shaundi to do so.]]* WhamEpisode: "Gang Bang", where the unusually non-comedic STAG invades Steelport and starts causing trouble for the Saints.* WhatTheHellHero: The Boss is not at all happy that Angel put him/her in a car with ''a tiger'' as part of his training. --> '''The Boss''': A fucking tiger? ''A FUCKING TIGER?!'' What the fuck is wrong with you?** Late in the game, if you've been primarily gaining territory via buying it rather than destroying Syndicate territory, Shaundi will call you and chew you out for [[NotSoDifferent acting just like the Syndicate would]].* WhatTheHellPlayer: Your homies chastise you for running over pedestrians and generally destroying the city if they're in the vehicle you're driving.--> '''Zimos''': [[SarcasmMode Car accident never killed nobody.]]--> '''Kinzie''': Robot cars can't get here quick enough.** This is inverted during the Trafficking activities (with Pierce or Zimos driving you around) and [[spoiler:when Angel drives you to the airport if you decide to stop Killbane from fleeing Steelport]]. These lines can also be heard during co-op play from the player character in the passenger seat.---> '''Male Boss 1''': It's called a steering wheel. USE IT!---> '''Male Boss 1''': [[SarcasmMode Next time, hit it harder]].---> '''Male Boss 1''': You ''really'' like breaking stuff, right?---> '''Male Boss 1''': Someone's not getting a good driver's discount.* WorldOfHam: The Gangstas... In Space! mission. It's also full of BadBadActing.* WrestlerInAllOfUs:** The vast majority of the Boss' new melee moves are pro-wrestling inspired; ranging from flying clotheslines to drop kicks.** Oleg can be seen using wrestling moves on Brutes. Angel, appropriately enough, uses wrestling moves on mooks, he even uses [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlmSzZKeExY&t=1m57s a jumping tornado DDT in the trailer]].* WrittenByTheWinners: Killbane wrote a play about his and Angel's backstory. In the play, Angel is a scheming fool who was jealous of Killbane's skill and Killbane unmasked Angel as a last resort. In reality, Killbane turned on Angel in a fit of jealousy and paranoia.* WrongInsultOffence: Phillipe Loren is not French, he is Belgian... and pushing this ends up becoming a BIG MISTAKE.--->'''Boss:''' Ah dammit, I should have made a [[spoiler:Belgian Waffle]] joke...* XtremeKoolLetterz: Nyte Blayde. Use Female Voice 3 and your character lampshades it in the mission where you kidnap Josh Birk.* YesMan: Andy Zhen in the Gangstas in Space expansion pack relentlessly praises The Boss's monotone acting, in stark contrast to [[BadBoss how he treats the other actors.]]* YouAllLookFamiliar: Made especially noticeable to people who played the second game which completely and totally averted this with randomly generated [=NPC=]s. Probably the hardest group hit are the zombies, who only got maybe half a dozen different character models. This was made even worse since the zombies always appeared in large groups and it wasn't uncommon to run into a horde of the exact same guy over and over again.* YouAndWhatArmy: In the second mission:-->'''Philippe Loren''': I am going to ''cut'' that disrespectful tongue from your mouth.\\'''Johnny Gat''': Oh, yeah? You and how many of your... [{{Beat}}] [[OhCrap Oh. ''That'' many.]]* YouDidEverythingYouCould: Nearly everyone, even a few of the Saints' enemies, in response to Shaundi and her belief that [[spoiler:Johnny's death]] [[ItsAllMyFault is all her fault]].* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: And Volition knows it. In addition to blue, they give us several others, including purple, teal, turquoise, green, red, yellow, orange, etc. Given the many new eye colors, this may lead to CurtainsMatchTheWindow. Not to mention you can change your skin color to many things. You can actually walk around as the ''ComicBook/SilverSurfer'' if you choose to.* YoungerThanTheyLook: Matt Miller. Despite looking ([[Creator/YuriLowenthal and sounding]]) like he's in his twenties, he's actually only [[WordOfGod sixteen]].* YourHeadAsplode: An optional way to kill [[GiantMook brutes]] is by doing enough damage to make them fall to their knees, and then do a QuickTimeEvent that ends in the boss blowing their head off by either shoving a grenade in their mouth, or emptying a pistol into their face at point blank range. (Averted if the player simply unloads enough damage while they kneel will finish them off too)* YourMindMakesItReal: At the start of the mission "[=http://deckers.die=]", Boss states that entering the Deckers' user net will be safer than getting shot at. Kinzie tells him [[DissonantSerenity cheerfully]] that if his mind takes too much of a shock he'll end up brain dead.-->'''Boss''': [[DeadpanSnarker Great plan, Kinzie.]]\\'''Kinzie''': I know.* ZombieApocalypse: You accidentally almost cause one, then get hired by Mayor Burt Reynolds to clean it up. You can optionally choose to keep some of TheVirus for your own personal zombie army to sic on enemies. Then you discover that the zombies basically control a small area of the city. The final survival mission involves killing no less than 600 of them, compared to regular ones, which involve 40-60 gang members or policemen.** A cheat code allows you to make zombies spawn instead of regular pedestrians everywhere. They're hostile to police and gang members, so HilarityEnsues.** [[spoiler: Regardless of which ending you got, you get Zombie Johnny Gat as a homie in the PlayableEpilogue.]] [[/folder]]----